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PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


Presented  by  Mr   Samuel  Agnew  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Agnew  Coll.  on  Baptism,  No. 


5CS 


,  ^ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/essaysonchurchofOOma 


ESSAYS 


ON  THE 


CHURCH    OF    GOD, 


JOHN  M.  MASON,  D.  D. 


.EDITED    BY   THE 
REV.  EBENEZER  MASON 


NEW  YORK: 

PUBLISHED   FOR   THE    EDITOR   BY 

ROBERT   CARTER,  58  CANAL   STREET, 

PITTSBURG  :— THOMAS  CARTER. 

1843. 


*£V 


0.  ^  c: 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  following  Essays  originally  appeared  in  a  periodical,  entitled  the 
"  Christian  Magazine,"  edited  by  the  late  Dr.  Mason,  in  the  year  1808 — 10, 
and  in  1832  were  incorporated  in  an  edition  of  his  works.  At  their  first  pub- 
lication they  were  much  valued,  and  they  have  been  ever  since  constantly 
demanded  by  the  religious  public.  Their  re -publication  in  their  present 
form  is  in  answer  to  repeated  calls.  The  reasons,  which  rendered  their  pre- 
paration needful,  exist  in  resuscitated  freshness  at  the  present  moment ;  and 
with  some  additional  peculiarities.  The  community,  for  whose  predecessors 
they  were  written,  encounter  the  same  obstacles,  are  annoyed  by  the  same 
perplexities,  and  need  the  same  direction  and  instruction,  their  fathers  re- 
ceived. The  present  edition  of  the  essays  has  been  published  at  a  low  price 
in  comparison  with  its  style,  that  its  circulation  may  be  the  more  extensive. 

It  may  not  be  improper  to  observe  furthermore,  that  these  Essays  are  not 
controversial.  They  seek  rather  the  establishment  of  truth,  than  the  refu- 
tation of  error ;  the  confirmation  of  its  friends,  rather  than  the  overthrow 
of  its  enemies;  the  lucid  exhibition  of  divine  institution,  rather  than  the  un- 
welcome labour  of  dispelling  the  mists  of  human  inventions,  and  notions. 

Their  language  may  not  be  mistaken ;  it  is  as  plain  as  it  is  forcible,  and 
the  arguments  as  cogent  as  direct.  The  doctrine  of  the  nature  of  the  Church 
is  presented  in  such  a  manner  as  to  guard  men  from  yielding  themselves  up 
to  the  dominion  of  certain  exclusive  opinions,  now  urged  under  high  and 
somewhat  imposing  ecclesiastical  sanctions ; — opinions,  too,  which  if  admit- 
ted would  invest  forms  of  religion,  of  whatever  kind  they  may  be,  with  a  life 
inspiring  vitality,  and  lead  men  into  the  delusions  of  superstition  and  deso- 
lation of  ruin. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Unity  and  Visibility  of  the  Church  is  most  strikingly 
presented.  Overstepping  all  natural  boundaries  of  space,  and  all  artificial 
ones  of  human  creation,  preserving  a  strict  analogy  with  the  divine  arrange- 
ments over  men  as  social  beings,  it  makes  its  direct  and  powerful  appeal  to 
every  christian  heart ;  it  identifies  him  with  the  people  of  God  in  all  ages, 
and  in  all  places ;  concentrates  their  energies  of  prayer,  and  faith,  and 
hope — they  move  not  isolated — forsaken — or  despairing ;  but  every  uplifted 
hand  nerves  every  other  hand ;  and  every  warm  heart  sends  its  purifying 
savour  over  every  other  heart, — the  mutual  pledges  of  sustained  conflict, 
and  certain  success.  The  doctrine  delivers  from  the  dilemma  of  good  and 
honest  men,  the  contracting  notion  of  an  perfectly  pure  Church,  elect  and 
holy ;  and  the  loose  notion  of  a  Church  exposed  to  the  "  devouring  of 
every  ravening  beast  and  the  pollution  of  every  unclean  bird."  The  Church 
is  suited  to  the  nature  of  men,  and  is  possessed  of  those  inherent  and  es- 
sential properties  of  government,  of  protection,  rewards  and  punishments, 
which  every  organized  society  requires. 

Perhaps,  the  most  important,  and  certainly  the  most  interesting  part  of 
the  Essays,  is  to  be  found  in  the  demonstration  of  the  Oneness  of  the 
Church  under  the  Old  and  New  Testament  economies.  In  it,  is  discussed 
with  the  peculiar  force  and  luminousness  of  the  author,  the  whole  question 
of  the  relation  of  the  children  of  believers  to  the  Church  ;  and  their  right 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

and  title  to  its  ordinances.  This  discussion  is  carried  on  upon  very  dis- 
tinct grounds,  and  rises  far  above  any  technicality  and  unworthy  conceal- 
ment. Every  point  of  objection  to  the  conclusions  to  which  he  is  led  by 
his  investigations  is  fairly  met ;  nor  can  those  who  may  differ  from  him, 
advance  a  single  syllable  of  complaint,  as  to  the  spirit  of  his  observation, 
and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  argument  has  never  yet  been  over- 
thrown, nor  do  we  see  how  it  can  be  set  aside.  Leaving,  however,  each 
one  to  his  honest  differences,  it  would  not  be  to  the  disadvantage  of  those 
who  agreeing  theoretically  and  practically  with  the  author  upon  the  right 
and  duties  of  children,  to  study  the  line  of  scriptural  argument  presented 
in  these  essays;  and  we  shall  confess  ourselves  disappointed,  unless  it  pre- 
vents many  a  perplexing  doubt,  or  removes  it,  if  already  existing;  unless  it 
imparts  a  propriety,  a  meaning,  and  a  blessedness  in  the  observance  of  the  rite 
of  infant  baptism,  now  too  often  observed  out  of  custom,  and  without  due 
intelligence  of  its  value  and  solemnity.  Children  also  may  learn  that  the 
transaction  on  their  account  was  no  idle  ceremony,  but  was  connected 
with  their  rights,  which  no  parent  might  wilfully  disregard,  and  is  associated 
with  obligations  correspondent  to  the  blessings  connected  with  the  recog- 
nition of  those  rights.  In  a  word,  this  part  of  these  Essays,  extended  to 
considerable  length,  may  be  considered  as  a  storehouse  of  exceedingly  pre- 
cious truths  illustrative  of  divine  care  and  regard  for  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Church  through  the  medium  of  her  own  offspring.  No  one,  we  think,  can 
rise  from  their  perusal  without  a  conviction  that  parents  and  children  are 
alike  included  within  Christ's  visible  Church,  and  under  the  sanction  of 
the  covenant  of  grace.  We  are  persuaded  that  a  study  of  these  Essays  will 
not  only  remove  misty  and  uncertain  views,  but  irradiate  this  relation  with 
light,  and  make  it  shine  forth  in  peculiar  glory,  and  give  to  infant  baptism 
a  significancy,  which  shall  deliver  its  observors  from  all  approach  to  super- 
stition on  the  one  hand,  or  indifference  or  conformity  to  custom  upon  the 
other. 

The  latter  part  of  these  Essays  is  less  full  than  the  former ;  it  was  evi- 
dently written  under  the  pressure  of  existing  engagements,  and  the  desire 
of  giving  at  least  an  outline  of  important  subjects  upon  the  pages  of  his 
periodical.  It  treats  of  the  officers  of  the  Church,  their  qualifications, 
their  duties,  and  the  relations  between  them  and  the  Church,  over  whom 
they  are  set.  Even  at  this  day,  many  of  the  hints  are  capable  of  extended 
application,  and  the  history  of  the  Church  since,  has  confirmed  the  sound- 
ness of  the  observations  then  made  as  with  a  prophet's  ken.  It  may  not  be 
unprofitable  even  now  to  turn  the  eye  upon  the  true  position  of  the  Church. 
Her  ministry  are  not  in  possession  of  that  moral  power,  which  their  num- 
bers, acquirement,  or  diligence,  would  seem  to  justify,  and  occupy  compara- 
tively a  lower  position  than  their  predecessors.  The  Churches  themselves 
exhibit  a  deportment  indicative  of  their  consciousness  of  this  difficiency, 
and  which  unhappily  affects  themselves  in  all  the  interlinkings  of  the  social 
frame-work,  and  by  their  easy  divisions,  separations,  and  multiplications, 
have  weakened  their  united  power,  withdrawn  the  hand  of  extended  fel- 
lowship, contracted  the  sphere,  depressed  the  position,  impaired  the  moral 
power  of  her  own  ministry,  and  thus  by  a  mutual  re-action  of  the  ministry 
and  the  people,  evils  unchecked  advance  with  accelerated  power. 

In  casting  the  eye  over  the  Churches  of  our  land,  with  noble  exceptions 
indeed,  we  may  easily  discover  principles  of  a  political,  sectional,  social, 
and  personal  nature,  determining  points  of  ecclesiastical  propriety.  All 
cases,  where  the  tendency  to  such  a  state  is  seen  or  felt,  are  to  be  regretted 
as  evidences  of  neglect  or  perversion,  tending  to  shame  or  ruin.  We  aro 
called  to  trace  effects  to  causes,  to  avoid  the  scandal  of  the  Church  of  God, 
copying  even  in  appearance  the  principles  of  worldly  politics,  as  though  she 
was  without  precepts  for  her  own  government  and  protection  ;  or  having 
tried  them  found  them  unsuitable,  or  was  incapable  of  beneficially  em- 
ploying them  herself     She  should  avoid  reversing  the  declaration  of  her 


INTRODUCTION.  VU 

Head  that  she  should  be  the  "light  of  the  world,"  for  its  guidance,  and  not 
that  she  should  follow  the  deceptive  gleams  of  plausible  and  interested  ex- 
pediency to  the  complete  extinguishment  of  her  own  brightness. 

The  writer  of  these  Essays  forseeing  certain  evils,  which  the  revolution 
of  a  few  years  have  revealed,  in  a  magnitude  far  beyond  his  anticipations, 
desired  to  forwarn,  and  thus  provide  an  antidote.  To  meet  this  desire,  to 
which  every  friend  of  the  Church  will  respond,  and  which  from  various 
directions  has  been  responded  to,  we  send  forth  again  these  Essays.  Their 
author,  though  removed,  will  again  contribute  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
true  dignity  and  honour  of  the  Church.  It  is  an  self-evident  truth,  that, 
with  all  the  apparatus  of  efficient  organization,  and  the  promises  of  divine 
presence  to  official  and  private  fidelity,  the  Church,  by  her  unity,  her  in- 
stitutions, and  her  ministry — with  the  favour  of  her  Head — may  come  forth 
"clear  as  the  sun,  fair  as  the  moon,  and  terrible  as  an  army  of  banners," 
until  all  nations  shall  rejoice  in  the  brightness  of  her  glory. 

EBENEZER  MASON. 
New  York,  20th  April,  1843. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

1.  Of  the  term  Church,  v       -        -        -        -      •  -    l 

2.  On  the  first  Organization  of  the  Church,  27 

3.  On  the  mode  of  perpetuating  the  Visible  Church,  -  47 

4.  Initiating  Seal, 63 

5.  Infant  Members,         -...-..-85 

6.  Uses, 123 

7.  Results, 163 

8.  Officers,  Ministry,  uses,      ------  197 

9.  Ministry,  Qualifications,          -----  219 
10.        do.                   do. 239 


CHURCH  OF  GOD. 


No.  I. 

It  is  our  intention  to  lay  before  our  readers  in 
a  series  of  numbers,  a  detailed  but  succinct  ac- 
count of  the  Church  of  God,  embracing  the 
chief  questions  concerning  its  nature,  members, 
officers,  order,  worship,  and  the  points  directly 
connected  with  them.  As  we  shall  proceed  upon 
a  regular  plan,  the  reader  is  requested  not  to  form 
his  judgment  of  the  whole  from  an  inspection  of 
a  part ;  and  not  to  disjoin  in  his  reflections  those 
parts,  which  precede  from  those  which  follow; 
but  to  recur  to  the  former  as  he  meets  with  the 
latter,  that  the  series  of  thought  may  be  preserved 
unbroken  in  his  mind ;  and  that  he  may  not  accuse 
us  hereafter  with  being  superficial  or  negligent, 
when  the  blame  ought  possibly  to  be  attached  to 
his  own  memory.  For  having  proved  a  point 
once,  we  shall  not  repeat  the  proof  afterwards, 
unless  for  very  particular  reasons,  and  in  a  very 
summary  way.     We  begin  with 

Vol.  IV.  I 


2  Church  of  God. 

An  inquiry  into  the  meaning  of  the  term  CHURCH. 

A  community  which  has  subsisted  for  ages, 
must  always  possess  a  number  of  usages  and 
terms  peculiar  to  itself.  And  although  their 
origin  may  be  remote,  and  their  force  unknown  to 
many  of  its  members,  they  suggest  general  ideas 
which  serve  the  purposes  of  common  conversation 
and  common  life.  The  fact  may  appear  extraor- 
dinary, but  it  is  nevertheless  true ;  for  the  pro- 
portion of  men  in  any  society  who  analyze  the 
words  and  phrases  which  they  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  utter  ever  since  they  were  able  to  speak, 
is  comparatively  small.  The  reader  can  bring 
this  matter  to  an  easy  test  by  interrogating  himself 
concerning  expressions  which  are  coeval  with  his 
earliest  recollection;  and  he  will  probably  be 
surprised  to  find  that,  in  thousands  of  instances, 
they  have  passed  and  repassed  through  his  mind 
without  his  attempting  to  arrest  them  long  enough 
to  satisfy  himself  as  to  their  appropriate  sense. 
This  want  of  precision  is  accompanied  with  no 
bad  effect,  till  something  occur  to  touch  an  insti- 
tution, a  privilege,  or  an  observance,  when  the 
inconvenience  may  be  sensibly  felt.  A  popular 
notion  is  often  overturned  by  the  interpretation  ol 
a  word;  and  the  multitude  are  astonished  either 
at  their  own  mistake,  or  at  the  effrontery  of  those 
who  charge  them  with  committing  it. 

That  which  happens  to  all  other  durable  com- 


No.  I— The  Term.  3 

binations  of  men,  must  happen  to  the  Christian 
Society.  We  need  go  no  further  for  an  example 
than  its  very  name.  "  Church,"  "  Christian 
Church,"  "  Church  of  God,"  are  familiar  to  the 
mouths  of  millions.  They  talk  of  "  the  Church" 
upon  all  occasions,  without  suspecting  that  per- 
haps they  understand  not  what  they  say.  They 
possibly  never  asked  what  is  the  Church  ?  Possibly, 
they  may  think  it  too  plain  to  deserve  an  answer. 
Possibly,  also,  the  more  they  revolve  it,  the  more 
they  may  be  puzzled.  Try  the  experiment.  Put 
the  question  successively  to  several  decent,  intel- 
ligent men,  and  their  replies,  various  as  their  pre- 
vious religious  habits,  will  convince  you  that  their 
acquaintance  with  the  subject  is  slight  indeed.  It 
is  therefore  necessary  to  go  to  first  principles. 

The  word  "  Church,"  derived  from  the  Greek 
xu£»axov,  signifies  "  the  house  of  the  Lord ;"  and 
marks  the  property  which  he  has  in  it.  But  the 
original  words  which  it  is  employed  to  translate, 
signify  a  different  thing.  The  Hebrew  words 
bnp  (cahal)  and  my  (gheda)  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment ;  and  the  corresponding  one  lxxXij<r»a  (ecclesia) 
in  the  New,  all  signify  an  assembly,  especially  one 
convened  by  invitation  or  appointment.  That 
this  is  their  generic  sense,  no  scholar  will  deny; 
nor  that  their  particular  applications  are  ultimate- 
ly resolvable  into  it.  Hence  it  is  evident,  that  from 
the  terms  themselves  nothing  can  be  concluded 


4  Church  of  God. 

as  to  the  nature  or  extent  of  the  assembly  which 
they  denote.  Whenever  either  of  the  two  former 
occurs  in  the  Old  Testament,  or  the  other  in  the 
New,  you  are  sure  of  an  assembly,  but  of  nothing 
more.  What  that  assembly  is,  and  whom  it  com- 
prehends, you  must  learn  from  the  connexion  of  the 
term,  and  the  subject  of  the  writer.  A  few  instances 
will  exemplify  the  remark. 

In  the  Old  Testament  Sfip,  (cahal)  is  applied 

To  the  whole  mass  of  the  people,     .     Ex.  xii.  6. 

To  a  portion  of  the  people,  who  came  upon  He- 
zekiah's  invitation  to  keep  the  passover. 

2  Chron.  xxx.  24. 

To  the  army  of  Pharaoh.     .     .     Ezek.  xvii.  17. 

To  an  indefinite  multitude.      .     .      Gen.  xxviii.  3. 

To  the  society  of  Simeon  and  Levi.         xlix.  6. 

So  also  TSiy,  (gheda)  is  applied 

To  the  whole   nation  of  Israel.     Ex.  xvi.  22 ; 

XXXV.  1. 

To  the  particular  company  of  Korah,  Dathan, 
and  Abiram Numb.  xvi.  16. 

To  the  assembly  of  the  just,  as  opposed  to  the 
wicked. Psal.  i.  5. 

To  the  judicatory,  before  which  crimes  were 

tried Numb.  xxxv,  12.  24  ; 

compared  with  Deut.  xix.  12. 17.  18. 

In    like    manner    kxXijtfia,    (ecclesid)    rendered 
"  Church,"  is  applied 

To  the  whole  body  of  the  redeemed. 

Ephes.  v.  24.  27. 


No.  I. —  Visible  Unity.  5 

To  the  whole  body  of  professing  Christians. 

1  Cor.  xii.  28. 

To  local  organizations  of  professing  Christians, 
whether  more  or  less  extensive  ;  as  in  the  aposto- 
lic salutations,  and  inscriptions  of  the  epistles. 

To  a  small  association  of  Christians  meeting  to- 
gether in  a  private  house.    Col.  iv.  15. — Phil.  i.  2. 

To  a  civil  assembly  lawfully  convened. 

Act.  xix.  39. 

To  a  body  of  people  irregularly  convened. 

Act.  xix.  32. 

This  specimen  is  sufficient  to  show  that  no  per- 
son can  ansAver  the  question, "  what  is  the  Church?" 
without  carefully  examining  the  thing  as  well  as 
the  name  :  nor  safely  expound  either,  without  con- 
sulting the  original  scriptures  ;  or  putting  himself 
implicitly  under  the  direction  of  one  who  is  able 
to  do  it  for  him.  An  attempt  to  discuss  the  con- 
stitution and  order  of  the  church,  without  looking 
much  further  and  much  deeper  than  the  mere 
term,  as  it  occurs  in  our  English  Bibles,  can  never 
be  any  better  than  childish  prattle. 

I  have  said  that  the  term  "  Church"  is  applied 
to  the  whole  body  of  professing  Christians ;  and 
my  design  is  to  prove  that  the  scriptures  teach  the 
doctrine  of  a  Visible  Church  Catholic,  composed  of 
all  those  throughout  the  world  who  profess  the 
true  religion. 

This  great  society  is  a  "  Church,"  because  it  is 


6  Church  of  God. 

collected  together  by  the  authority  of  God  in  the 
dispensation  of  the  gospel,  and  solemnly  set  apart 
from  the  world  for  sacred  uses. 

This  church  is  "  visible,"  as  distinguished  from 
the  "  elect  of  God,"  who  are  known  to  him  alone ; 
and  therefore  cannot,  as  such,  form  a  separate 
society  among  men. 

This  visible  church  is  "  Catholic,"  that  is,  it 
comprehends  all  those  "  throughout  the  world 
that  profess  the  true  religion." 

If  then  I  am  asked  what  1  mean  by  the  "  Church  ?" 
I  answer,  that  visible  catholic  society  which  I 
have  now  defined ;  which  is  the  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  upon  earth,  where  he  has  de- 
posited his  truth,  and  instituted  his  ordinances. 

The  fact  that  he  has  founded  such  a  church,  I 
thus  demonstrate. 

1.  It  is  indisputable  that  such  a  church  did  for- 
merly exist,  and  that  by  his  own  appointment. 

The  whole  of  the  covenanted  seed  of  Abraham 
belonged  to  it.  That  this  "  seed"  made  up  the 
church  of  God  under  the  law;  that  it  embraced, 
at  least  in  some  periods,  thousands  and  ten  thou- 
sands within  and  without  the  land  of  Judea,  and 
among  them  multitudes  who  never  were  partakers 
of  saving  grace,  cannot  be  doubted.  Every  one 
who  had  the  token  of  God's  covenant  in  his  flesh, 
whether  regenerated  or  not,  was  reputed  a  mem- 
ber of  this  church.     The  Jews  were  scattered,  by 


No.  I. —  Visible  Unity.  7 

several  dispersions,  through  distant  lands  ;  yet 
preserving  the  name  of  the  God  of  their  fathers, 
and  their  profession  of  adherence  to  him,  they 
were  never  considered  as  cast  out  of  his  church. 
On  this  ground  it  was,  that  on  the  day  of  pente- 
cost,  "  there  were  dwelling  at  Jerusalem,  Jews, 
devout  men,  out  of  every  nation  under  heaven"* 
The  old  economy  was  subjected  to  local  restric- 
tions which  rendered  a  universal  dispensation  im- 
possible while  they  lasted,  but  still  the  "  profes- 
sors of  the  true  religion,"  the  worshippers  of  the 
God  of  Israel,  made  up  but  one  church.  Reside 
where  they  might,  they  all  belonged  to  the  H1H* 
Sip,  the  congregation  of  the  Lord. 

If,  then,  there  is  no  longer  any  public  church 
visible,  what  has  become  of  it  ?  Who  has  annul- 
led, destroyed,  blotted  it  out  ?  Produce  a  single 
declaration  of  its  divine  author  that  it  should  come 
to  an  end.  The  disinheriting  of  the  unhappy  Jews 
is  nothing  to  the  purpose,  or  rather  supports  the 
contrary.  Their  being  cast  out  of  the  visible 
church,  for  they  could  not  be  cast  out  of  any 
other,  implies  the  existence  of  that  church,  and 
the  privilege  of  connexion  with  her.  The  abo- 
lition of  those  restrictions  which  were  suited  to  a 
preparatory  state,  fitted  her  for  universality.  But 
that  which  fitted  her  for  universality  could  in  no 
sense  whatever  be  her  annihilation.  The  Jews 
*  Act.  ii.  5. 


8  Church  of  God. 

were  not  cut  off,  till  after  the  commencement  and 
establishment  of  the  new  dispensation,  that  is,  till 
after  the  Gentiles  were  taken  in:  therefore  the 
visible  church,  as  an  organized  whole,  subsisted 
after  the  commencement  of  this  dispensation,  and 
that  among  the  Gentile  Christians.  And  the  ex- 
cision of  the  Jews  was  no  more  an  extermination 
of  the  visible  church,  than  the  lopping  off  a  dis- 
eased branch  is  felling  the  whole  tree.  It  is  in- 
cumbent on  them  who  deny  a  visible  catholic 
church  under  the  New  Testament,  to  show  at 
what  time,  by  what  authority,  and  by  what  means, 
so  signal  a  constitution  of  God  has  been  laid  aside. 

2.  The  Old  Testament  scriptures  proceed  on 
the  principle  that  the  visible  church  state,  co-ex- 
tensive with  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  upon  earth, 
was  not  to  cease  at  the  introduction  of  the  evan- 
gelical dispensation. 

There  are  numerous  predictions  concerning 
the  church,  and  numerous  promises  to  her,  in  her 
public  capacity,  which  are  unfulfilled  at  this  hour, 
and  never  can  be  fulfilled,  if  her  visible  unity  be 
not  asserted.  For  example  :  "  Esaias  saith,  there 
shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse,  and  he  that  shall  rise  to 
reign  over  the  Gentiles  :  in  him  shall  the  Gentiles 
trust."  Does  any  man  suppose  that  the  "  reign" 
of  the  Redeemer  "  over  the  Gentiles"  is  confined 
to  those  whom  his  grace  has  subdued  to  the 
"  obedience  of  faith  ?"    And  if  not,  that  his  king- 


No.  L — Visible  Unity.  9 

dom,  destitute  of  a  distinctive  mark,  is  broken 
down  into  detached  fragments,  resembling  not  a 
compact  community,  but  a  hord  of  petty  demo- 
cracies ?  The  very  idea  of  a  kingdom  proves  that 
his  church  is  one,  that  she  is  visible,  and  that 
this  visible  unity  is  one  of  her  essential  attributes. 
If  you  cut  her  up  into  ten  thousand  pieces,  there 
is  no  more  a  kingdom.  If  you  strip  her  of  visi- 
ble form,  you  contract  her  within  limits  of  which 
Omniscience  alone  is  the  judge ;  you  withdraw 
her  from  the  eyes  of  men  altogether ;  and  shut 
her  up  in  impenetrable  secrecy.  Where  then  is 
her  light  ?  Where  her  testimony  ?  Where  the  use 
of  those  cautions,  precepts,  encouragements, 
which  are  adapted  to  her  state  as  visible,  and  have 
no  meaning  in  any  other  application  ? 

Thus,  "  I  will  extend  peace  to  her  like  a  river, 
and  the  glory  of  the  Gentiles  like  a  flowing 
stream."* — "  Kings  shall  be  thy  nursing-fathers, 
and  their  queens  thy  nursing-mothers."t  "  The 
Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and  kings  to  the 
brightness  of  thy  rising — the  abundance  of  the 
sea  shall  be  converted  into  thee ;  the  forces  of 
the  Gentiles  shall  come  unto  thee."J — These  are 
but  a  very  small  sample  of  prophecies  which  run 
in  the  same  general  strain :  and  two  things  are  ob- 
vious on  the  bare  inspection  of  them. 

First,  that  they  contemplate  the  church  as  one  ; 

*  Is.  lxvi.  12.  f  Is-  xlix.  23.  %  Is.  lx.  3.  5. 

Vol.  IV.  2 


10  Church  of  God. 

for  she  is  introduced  as  a  single  person;  and  un- 
der this  idea  are  they  addressed  to  her. 

Second — That  this  unity  is  not  ascribed  to  her 
as  composed  of  the  elect  alone.  The  Gentiles 
who  should  flow  into  her  were  not  all,  nor  are  pre- 
tended to  have  been,  real  Christians  :  that  "  light" 
which  was  to  shine  upon  the  Gentiles,  and  the 
"  brightness"  of  that  "  rising"  which  was  to  at- 
tract the  "kings,"  must  of  necessity  be  external : 
nor  could  kings  be  her  "  nursing-fathers,"  nor 
their  queens  her  "  nursing-mothers,"  but  as  a  pub- 
lic society  which  they  could  distinguish.  In  any 
other  sense  the  prediction  is  palpably  false. 

Further :  when  he  foretells  the  transition  of  the 
dispensation  of  grace  from  the  Jews  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, the  prophet  uses  the  same  style.  He  repre- 
sents the  church  not  as  subsisting  in  a  vast  mul- 
titude of  independent  associations,  but  as  a  great 
whole  ;  as  possessing  individual  unity.  He  per- 
sonifies it,  as  in  the  former  instances  :  "  Sing,  O 
barren,  that  thou  didst  not  bear  :  break  forth  into 
singing,  and  cry  aloud,  that  thou  didst  not  travail 
with  child ;  for  more  are  the  children  of  the  de- 
solate, than  the  children  of  the  married  wife,  saith 
the  Lord.  Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent,  and  let 
them  stretch  forth  the  curtains  of  thy  habitations ; 
spare  not ;  lengthen  thy  cords,  and  strengthen  thy 
stakes."* 

*  Is.  xliv.  1.  2. 


No.  L^-Visdb/e  Unity.  1J 

This  is,  unequivocally,  a  description  of  the 
church  as  exhibited  under  an  outward  dispensa- 
tion. The  comparison  between  the  "  desolate" 
and  the  "  married  wife,"  can  have  no  place  in  a 
question  concerning  the  internal  church,  nor  do  the 
other  circumstances  at  all  agree  to  her. 

Indeed,  whoever  admits  that  there  was,  at  any 
time  past,  one  visible  church,  and  that  promises 
were  made  to  her,  of  which  some  have  had,  others 
are  receiving,  and  others  are  yet  to  have,  their  ac- 
complishment, must  of  course  admit  the  continu- 
ance of  that  church  at  present.     For  the  fulfilling 
a  promise  to  an  individual  or  a  society,  supposes 
the  existence  of  that  individual  or  society.     The 
promises,  for  example,  to  Israel,  could  never  have 
been  performed,  had  Israel  perished.     The  adop- 
tion of  another  family  might  have  been  accompa- 
nied with  other  promises,  or  with  the  renewal  of 
the  old  ones :  but,  in  no  sense  could  they  be  ful- 
filled to  a  race  which  was  extinct  before  the  time 
of  fulfilment  came.     The  fact,  then,  that  God  is 
now  fulfilling,  and  to  fulfil  hereafter,  promises  given 
to  the  visible  church  ages  ago,  establishes  her  per- 
petuity and  identity.     She  never  has  been  destroy- 
ed, or  she  could  not  at  this  day  enjoy  the  accom- 
plishment of  ancient  promise 

3.  The  language  of  the  New  Testament  implies, 
that  an  external  visible  church  state  was  not  abo 
lished  with  the  law  of  Moses. 


12  Church  of  God. 

The  writers  of  the  New  Testament  never  go 
about  to  prove  that  there  is  a  catholic  visible 
church ;  far  less  do  they  speak  of  it  as  originating 
in  the  evangelical  dispensation ;  but  they  assume 
its  existence,  as  a  point  which  no  Christian  in 
their  days  ever  thought  of  disputing.  They  argue 
against  schism,  upon  the  principle  that  the  visible 
church  is  one,  and  they  record  ecclesiastical  de- 
liberations, and  decisions  by  the  apostles  and  el- 
ders, which,  upon  any  other  principle,  were  down- 
right usurpation  of  dominion  over  conscience. 
This  last  particular,  will  be  more  fully  handled 
before  we  have  done.  Let  us,  in  the  mean  time, 
attend  to  some  instances  in  which  this  doctrine  of 
the  one  visible  church,  is  interwoven  with  the  tex- 
ture of  their  language. 

"  This  is  he  that  was  with  the  church  in  the 
wilderness."  Acts  vii.  38.  Stephen  refers  to 
Moses,  and  we  know  what  church  Moses  was  with. 
No  one,  in  his  right  mind,  will  undertake  to  say 
that  Moses  was  with  the  elect  only.  "  Our  fa- 
thers," adds  the  martyr,  "  would  not  obey  him." 
Moses  himself  writes  that  these  rebels  were  the 
"  people" — the  «  whole  congregation" — "  all  the 
children  of  Israel,"*  and  this  was  the  "  church"  to 
which  Stephen  refers. 

"  The  Lord  added  to  the  church  daily  such  as 
should  be  saved."     Acts  ii.  47.     "  Saul  made 

*  Ex.  xxxii.    Num.  xiv. 


No.  I. —  Visible  Unity,  13 

havoc  of  the  church"  Ch.  viii.  3. — "  God  hath  set 
some  in  the  church  ;  first,  apostles,"  &c.  1  Cor. 
xii.  28. — "  Gaius,  the  host  of  the  whole  church" 
Rom.  xvi.  23. — "  Give  none  offence  to  the  church 
of  God."  1  Cor.  x.  32. — "  I  persecuted  the  church 
of  God."     1  Cor.  xv.  9. 

The  list  might  easily  be  swelled ;  but  it  is  need- 
less. Let  us  weigh  the  import  of  these  passages. 
The  "  church,"  to  which  the  Lord  daily  added 
such  as  should  be  saved,  was  not  the  body  of  the 
elect,  for  no  addition  can  be  made  to  them ;  nor 
was  it  a  single  congregation,  unless  God  had  no 
more  people  to  be  saved  in  Jerusalem,  than,  to- 
gether with  mere  professors,  were  sufficient  for 
one  pastoral  charge.  Nor  is  it  to  be  imagined 
either  that  Saul  confined  his  persecution  to  one 
congregation ;  or  that  he  was  able  to  pick  out  the 
elect,  and  persecute  them.  As  little  can  it  be  sus- 
pected, either  that  Gaius  never  entertained  any 
but  the  elect,  or  that  his  entertainments  never 
went  beyond  one  congregation.  Nor  will  a  sober 
man  allege,  that  God  hath  set  no  officers  but  in 
one  congregation,  or  that  they  have  no  functions 
toward  any  but  his  elect ;  or  that  all  whom  he 
hath  set  are  themselves  of  the  number  ;  nor  yet, 
that  "  offence"  can  never  be  given  to  any  but  to 
the  elect.  The  sin,  to  be  committed  at  all,  re- 
quires both  that  the  offending  and  offended,  may 
see  and  know  each  other.    But  the  scripture  is 


14  Church  of  God. 

express:  The  Lord  added  to  the  church — Saul 
persecuted  the  church — Gaius  was  the  host  of  the 
church — God  hath  set  officers  in  the  church — 
Christians  are  not  to  offend  the  church.  Now  as 
these  and  many  similar  phrases,  are  utterly  inap- 
plicable either  to  a  single  congregation,  or  to  the 
body  of  the  redeemed,  they  must  designate  another 
and  different  society,  which  can  be  no  other  than 
what  we  have  called  the  visible  Church  Catholic. 
Too  extensive  for  partial  assemblies,  too  noto- 
rious for  any  secret  election  of  men,  and  yet  a 
church  ;  the  church — it  is  general,  external,  and 
but  ONE. 

In  truth,  the  phraseology  of  the  New  Testament 
on  this  subject,  as  on  many  others,  is  borrowed 
directly  from  that  of  the  Old.  The  expression 
"  church  of  God,"  is  a  literal  translation  into  En- 
glish of  those  Greek  words  which  are  themselves 
a  literal  translation  from  the  Hebrew.  For  every 
scholar  knows,  that  QTf'Kn  or  m?T  Sip ;  ixxkipfa 
0£ov ;  and  "  Church  of  God,"  signify  in  their  re- 
spective tongues,  exactly  the  same  thing.  Con- 
ceive, then,  of  an  apostle's  addressing  himself  to 
Jews,  as  Paul  did,  in  the  Hebrew  tongue.  By 
what  phrase  would  he  designate  the  church  ? 
Evidently  by  that  which  is  used  in  the  Hebrew 
scriptures,  and  was  familiar  to  his  hearers.  And 
what  sense  could  they  put  upon  it  ?  Evidently  that 
which  had  long  been  settled,  and  no  other,  Would 


JNo.  1. —  Visible  Unity.  15 

the  Jews,  then,  have  understood  him  as  meaning 
by  "  the  church,"  either  a  section  of  their  nation 
no  bigger  than  could  be  contained  within  the 
walls  of  a  synagogue  ?  or  those  favoured  ones 
whom  God  has  predestined  to  life  ?  The  thing  is 
impossible  !  because  he  would  use  the  current 
phraseology  of  both  their  holy  and  their  popular 
language  in  a  sense  quite  different  from  any  which 
had  formerly  been  affixed  to  it.  They  would 
understand  him  as  discoursing  of  that  great  visible 
society  which  God  had  publicly  set  apart  for 
himself. 

Conceive  again  of  the  apostle  as  addressing 
Gentiles  on  this  subject,  and  speaking  Greek.  He 
would  evidently  express  himself  in  the  terms  which 
he  has  used  in  his  epistles.  What  htX^ia  (ecclesid) 
means,  every  Grecian  could  tell.  But  how  was  a 
Heathen  to  understand  the  meaning  of  hzxkapia  Osov 
(ecclssia  theou,)  or  the  "church  of  God?"  He 
was  perfectly  ignorant  of  Christian  doctrine,  and 
the  structure  of  Christian  congregations.  Nor 
could  he  form  any  correct  notion  of  the  thing  in- 
tended, without  an  explanation  drawn  from  the 
Old  Testament  scriptures. 

The  result  stands  thus  :  The  apostle,  when 
preaching  or  writing  to  Jews  or  Gentiles,  speaks 
of  the  church  of  God  in  terms  well  known  to  the 
one,  and  entirely  new  to  the  other.  The  alterna- 
tive is  obvious.     Either  he  used  these  terms  in 


1 6  Church  of  God, 

their  ascertained  sense,  or  not.  If  the  former,  he 
has  recognized  the  visible  unity  of  the  Church 
Catholic ;  and  so  our  position  is  proved.  If  the 
latter,  he  deceived  all  his  hearers  ;  all  his  corres- 
pondents ;  all  who  in  every  age  adopt  his  letters 
as  a  rule  of  faith.  Undoubtedly,  had  he  used  the 
terms  "  church"  and  "  church  of  God"  in  a  sense 
unknown  to  Moses  and  the  Fathers,  he  would  not 
have  omitted  to  mention  it ;  that  we  might  not  be 
led  into  errour.  But  the  fact  is,  that  there  is  not 
throughout  the  New  Testament  any  exposition 
of  these  terms.  They  are  employed  as  terms  of 
the  most  definite  import ;  as  terms  which  no  one 
who  chose  to  consult  the  earlier  scriptures  could 
mistake.  The  law  of  interpretation  to  the  primi- 
tive Christians  must,  of  course,  be  our  law;  and 
the  same  issue  returns  upon  us;  the  expression 
"  church  of  God,"  used  without  qualification, 
means  an  external  society  comprehending  all  those 
who  profess  the  true  religion. 

If  any  one  think  that  too  much  stress  is  laid 
upon  the  coincidence  between  the  phraseology  of 
the  two  Testaments,  let  him  reflect,  not  only  that 
they  relate  to  a  common  whole;  but  that  the 
same  coincidence  happens  in  other  things.  Thus, 
"  Christ,"  is  but  the  English  form  of  x^kjvos,  which 
is  the  literal  translation  of  Jvpd,  (Messiah)  all 
signifying  "  the  anointed."  When,  therefore,  the 
Lord  Jesus  was  proclaimed  as  the  "  Christ  of 


No.  I. —  Visible  Unity.  17 

God,"  how  could  either  Jew  or  Gentile  understand 
the  preacher  but  by  going  back  to  the  Old  Tes- 
tament? There  the  word  was  perfectly  familiar, 
although,  in  its  sacred  sense,  utterly  unknown  to 
the  Heathen.  And  this  explains  why  a  profession 
that  "  Jesus  is  the  Christ,"  was  deemed,  in  the 
first  age  of  the  church,  a  sufficient  criterion  of 
one's  religion.  No  man  could  make  it  without 
being  instructed,  from  the  scriptures  of  the  Old 
Testament,  in  the  Redeemer's  character  and 
work.  The  reason  why  many  now  suppose  such 
a  profession  extremely  easy,  is,  that  they  do  not 
perceive  its  relation  to  truths  previously  revealed. 
And  this,  too,  is  the  reason  why  there  is  so  much 
blundering  about  the  nature  of  the  church.  Peo- 
ple imagine  themselves  at  liberty  to  interpret  the 
word  at  their  pleasure :  whereas  it  is  referrible  to 
the  Old  Testament  as  really  as  the  word  "  Christ." 
Neither  the  nature  of  the  church,  nor  the  office  of 
her  head,  is  to  be  understood  without  an  appeal 
to  the  same  scriptures.  Consequently,  that  very 
rule  which  expounds  "  the  Christ  of  God,"  as  sig- 
nifying one  who  was  qualified  by  the  father's  ap- 
pointment, and  by  the  measureless  communication 
of  the  divine  Spirit,  to  be  a  Saviour  for  men ;  will 
oblige  us  to  expound  the  "  church  of  God,"  as 
signifying  that  great  visible  society  which  pro- 
fesses his  name. 

4.  The   account  which  the  New   Testament 

Vol.  IV.  3 


18  Church  of  God. 

gives  of  the  church,  confirms  the  doctrine  of  her 
visible  unity. 

One  of  the  most  common  appellations  by 
which  she  is  there  distinguished,  is,  "  the  kingdom 
of  heaven."  This  can  be  but  one :  or  else  it 
would  not  be  a  kingdom,  and  the  kingdom,  but 
several.  And  this  one  must  be  visible,  because 
its  ordinances  are  administered  by  visible  agency.# 
Nay  it  is  only  as  visible  that  it  admits  of  the  ex- 
ercise of  any  part  of  its  government  by  men. 
The  church  invisible,  which  eludes  every  human 
sense  and  faculty,  cannot  be  the  object  of  human 
functions.  And  to  preclude  mistake  in  this  mat- 
ter, our  Lord  informs  us  that  his  kingdom,  while 
in  the  world,  shall,  like  other  kingdoms,  have  false 
as  well  as  true  subjects.  That  hypocrites  shall  so 
intermingle  with  saints  as  to  render  their  separa- 
tion in  the  present  life  impossible  by  any  means 
which  will  not  exterminate  both.  Such  is  the 
manifest  import  of  the  parable  of  the  "  tares." 
Mat.  xiii.  24 — 30. 

An  attempt  has,  indeed,  been  made,  to  repel 
this  argument,  by  supposing  the  parable  to  repre- 
sent, not  the  mixture  of  Christians  with  hypo- 
crites in  the  church,  but  their  mixture  with  wicked 
men  in  civil  Society.     Let  us  see  : 

The  parable  is  a  likeness  of  "  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."     A  phrase   which  never   signifies   the 

*  Mat.  xvi.  19.  xxviii.  19,  20.     John  xx.  21—23. 


No.  1. —  Visible  Unity.  19 

world  at  large,  or  civil  society ;  but  the  church  of 
God  under  the  evangelical  dispensation.  There 
was  no  need  to  teach  the  disciples,  by  a  symboli- 
cal lesson,  that  good  men  and  bad  are  mingled  to- 
gether in  civil  society.  This  had  been  sufficiently 
attested  by  the  experience  of  all  previous  ages, 
and  was  at  that  very  moment  evident  to  their 
eyes.  But  considering  the  expectations  which 
they  might  be  led  to  form  from  the  introduction 
of  a  spiritual  economy,  it  was  altogether  needful 
to  apprise  them  that  in  her  best  estate,  in  her 
noblest  appearance  as  the  kingdom  of  Heaven, 
the  church  would  be  still  imperfect,  and  injured 
by  unworthy  members.  Nor  could  the  officers  of 
Christ,  answering  to  the  "  servants  of  the  house- 
holder," ever  entertain  so  wild  an  idea  as  that  of 
severing  Christians  from  the  society  of  other  men ; 
for  were  it  even  practicable,  it  would  defeat  one 
of  the  high  ends  for  which  they  live  in  the  world ; 
that  of  "  letting  their  light  shine  before  others ;" 
and  would  gradually  extirpate  them  from  the 
face  of  the  earth.  But  it  would  be  very  natural 
for  the  disciples  to  imagine  that,  with  the  keys  of 
the  kingdom  of  Heaven  in  their  hands,  they 
should  endeavour  to  exclude  every  one  whom 
they  had  reason  to  suspect  of  insincerity.  Many 
are  infected  with  such  a  notion  to  this  day.  No 
rotten  hearted  professor  shall  pollute  their  com- 
munion !  they  will   rest   the  right   of  admission 


20  Church  of  God. 

upon  the  reality  of  conversion !  And  some  waste 
their  lives  in  pursuit  of  that  chimera,  a  perfect 
church !  Nor  have  either  the  admonitions  of 
Christ,  nor  the  rough  tuition  of  disappointment, 
cured  them  of  their  folly.  There  was,  therefore, 
much  cause  for  guarding  his  disciples  against  so 
imposing  an  errour.  And  he  has  taught  them 
that  there  are  no  human  means  of  effecting  a 
complete  expulsion  of  the  unconverted  from  his 
church  :  that  the  attempt  would  destroy  his  own 
people:  and,  therefore,  that  they  must  be  left, 
like  the  tares  and  the  wheat,  to  "  grow  together 
until  the  harvest."  Then,  that  is,  at  "  the  end 
of  the  world,"  he  will  "  send  forth  his  angels, 
and  they  shall  gather  out  of" — what  ?  Civil 
society  ?  No,  but  out  of  "  his  kingdom,  all  things 
that  offend  ;  and  them  which  do  iniquity,  and 
shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire  :  there  shall 
be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth." — v.  41,  42. 

To  the  same  amount  is  the  parable  of  the  net, 
in  verses  47 — 50.  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
like  unto  a  net  that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and 
gathered  of  every  kind."  Is  this,  too,  a  descrip- 
tion of  civil  society  ?  It  is  evident,  that  "  the  sea," 
with  its  swarms  of  fishes,  represents  the  world 
with  its  multitudes  of  men.  Like  a  net  cast  into 
the  former,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  introduced 
among  the  latter,  gathers  a  mixed  assemblage 
from  the  common  mass.     And  as  it  is  impossible, 


No.  I.—  Visible  Unity.  21 

while  the  net  is  in  the  waters,  to  divide  the  good 
fish  from  the  bad ;  so  it  is  impossible,  while  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  exists  here  among  men, 
to  divide  saints  from  hypocrites.  The  alterna- 
tive is  alike  in  the  type,  and  the  thing  typified. 
The  net  must  be  drawn  "  to  shore,"  before  the 
fish  can  be  distributed ;  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
must  close  ;  "  the  end  of  the  world"  must  come, 
before  "  the  wicked  can  be  severed  from  among 
the  just."  Nothing  can  be  clearer,  than  that  man- 
kind at  large  correspond,  in  the  parable,  with  the 
fish  of  the  sea  ;  consequently,  that  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  which,  like  a  net  thrown  into  the  sea, 
gathers  a  selection  from  among  men,  cannot  pos- 
sibly mean  civil  society.  To  make  this  out,  it 
should  be  proved  that  the  net  catches  all  the  fish 
wherever  it  is  cast  into  the  sea. 

To  crown  this  argument ;  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven is  likened  unto  "  ten  virgins,  of  whom  five 
were  wise,  and  five  were  foolish."*  This  also 
must  mean  "  civil  society,"  or  the  hypothesis  we 
are  considering  is  ruined.  But  what  man  in  his 
senses  will  venture  upon  so  extravagant  an  asser- 
tion? All  these  virgins  professed  to  belong  to  the 
train  of  the  bridegroom — Ml  the  members  of  civil 
society  make  no  such  profession.  It  is  wasting 
words  to  press  the  point  further.  This  notion  of 
the  state  of  civil  society  being  represented  by  the 

*  Mat.  xxv.  l. 


22  Church  of  God. 

parable  of  the  tares,  &c.  is  a  fable  invented  in  or- 
der to  get  rid  of  a  troublesome  truth :  and  adds 
another  to  the  numberless  examples  already  given 
by  zeal  without  knowledge,  of  its  being  much 
easier  to  contradict  the  scriptures,  than  to  explain 
them.     The  sum  is, 

That  the  kingdom  of  heaven  cannot  designate 
the  election  of  grace  ;  because  no  one  belonging 
to  that  will  be  "  cast  into  the  furnace  of  fire." — 
We  have  proved  that  it  cannot  signify  the  state  of 
civil  society,  and  it  would  be  superlatively  ridicu- 
lous to  confine  it  to  a  single  congregation ;  there- 
fore, 

It  must  mean  the  external  Visible  Church,  which, 
according  to  the  conditions  of  description,  can  be 
but  ONE. 

If  we  proceed  a  little  further,  we  shall  meet 
with  the  same  thing  under  a  different  form.  The 
apostle  Paul,  in  his  first  letter  to  the  Corinthian 
Christians,  chap.  xii.  treats  at  length,  of  the  vari- 
ous gifts  which  the  Holy  Spirit  had  bestowed 
upon  various  individuals.  He  argues  that  these 
gifts  ought  to  be  no  ground  of  dissention,  for  these 
two  reasons  :  first,  that  they  were  all  of  the  same 
divine  original ;  and  secondly,  that  they  all  contri- 
buted to  the  common  good,  and  most  effectually 
by  retaining  each  its  appropriate  place.  The 
latter  reason  is  illustrated  by  the  analogy  of  the 
human   body;    and  winds  up  with   declaring — 


No.  I. —  Visible  Unity.  23 

"  Now  ye  are  the  body  of  Christ,  and  members  in 
particular."  The  question  is,  what  are  we  to  un- 
derstand by  the  "  body  of  Christ  ?" 

That  it  signifies  a  whole,  is  as  plain  as  that 
words  signify  any  thing.  Then,  what  whole? 
Not  the  church  at  Corinth,  far  less  a  particular 
congregation,  unless  the  commission  of  the 
apostles  and  the  use  of  all  spiritual  gifts,  extend 
no  further. 

Not  the  church  of  the  elect ;  for  there  are  no 
"  schisms"  in  that  body,  as  such.  A  schism  which 
cannot  be  perceived  is  no  schism ;  and  the  mo- 
ment you  render  it  perceptible,  you  are  in  a  visi- 
ble church.  Nor  can  it  be  affirmed,  but  at  the 
expense  of  all  fact  and  consistency,  that  God  hath 
set  no  officers  except  in  the  church  of  his  redeem- 
ed. For,  upon  that  supposition,  no  church  officer 
could  ever  exercise  his  office  toward  any  non- 
elected  man;  the  pastoral  relation  could  never 
be  fixed  without  knowing  beforehand  who  are  the 
elected  of  God ;  or  else,  no  person,  however  blas- 
phemous and  abominable,  could  be  kept  out  of  a 
church,  because  such  "  blasphemer  and  injurious" 
may  possibly  be  "  a  chosen  vessel."  These  are 
absurdities. 

But  a  body,  a  church  there  is,  in  which  "  God 
hath  set,  first,  apostles ;  secondarily,  prophets ; 
thirdly,  teachers,"  &c.  An  individual  congrega- 
tion it  is  not.     A  partial  coalescence  of  congre- 


24  Church  of  God. 

gations  it  is  not.  The  "  church  of  the  first-born 
whose  names  are  written  in  heaven,"  it  is  not : 
and  yet  it  is  a  church  ;  the  church  to  which  God 
hath  given  his  ordinances.  There  is  no  escape  ; 
it  can  be  no  other  than  what  we  have  called  the 
Visible  Church  Catholic. 

The  reader  has  been  more  inattentive  than  it 
would  be  fair  to  suspect  of  any  who  shall  peruse 
these  sheets,  if  he  has  not  remarked,  that  all  the 
means  of  salvation  are  external.  The  scriptures, 
the  sabbath,  the  solemn  assembly,  the  sacraments, 
the  ministry ;  in  a  word,  the  whole  system  of  in- 
stituted worship,  is  visible.  Now,  is  it  not  a  most 
incredible  thing,  that  the  church  and  the  ordi- 
nances committed  to  her,  should  be  of  opposite 
natures  ?  Or  rather,  that  the  ordinances  should 
have  a  solid,  external  existence,  and  the  church 
to  which  they  are  given,  no  such  existence  at  all ! 
A  visible  bible,  visible  ministry,  visible  worship, 
visible  sacraments,  visible  discipline,  and  no  visi- 
ble church  !  Nothing  but  a  phantom,  a  metaphysi- 
cal idea,  as  the  repository  of  God's  truth  and 
institutions !  One  fact  in  the  history  of  revelation, 
is  enough  to  dispel  these  visions.  It  will  not  be 
controverted  that  the  scriptures  are  God's  testi- 
mony to  his  church.  But  more  than  one  half  of 
this  testimony  was  delivered  to  the  Israelites  in 
their  public  covenanted  character ;  for  "  unto 
them  were  committed  the  oracles  of  God."   Unto 


No.  I. —  Visible  Unity.  25 

whom,  then,  have  the  subsequent  scriptures  been 
committed  ?  "  Unto  the  New  Testament  Church," 
you  will  say.  Agreed.  But  the  question  falls 
back  upon  you,  what  is  the  New  Testament 
Church  ?  If  she  is  not  the  very  same  great  socie- 
ty which  God  formerly  erected  for  the  praise  of 
his  glory,  and  has  caused  to  pass  under  a  new 
form  of  dispensation,  three  consequences  follow  : 

1st,  That  the  Old  Testament  is  no  part  of  the 
trust  deposited  with  her,  and  belongs  not  to  the 
rule  of  her  faith. 

2d.  That  God  has  divided  his  testimony  between 
two  churches  of  the  most  different  nature ;  and  of 
which  one  has  long  been  extinct.     Therefore, 

3d.  That  the  whole  scriptures,  as  the  testimony 
of  God,  never  were,  nor  can  be,  committed  to 
any  church  whatever,  unless  in  virtue  of  another 
special  revelation. 

But  if,  on  the  contrary,  these  scriptures  are  the 
testimony  of  God  deposited  with  his  church,  then 
it  irresistibly  follows,  that  she  is  now,  and  ever 
has  been,  since  her  first  organization,  a  public 
visible  society  which  God  has  appropriated  to 
himself;  where  his  name  is  known,  and  his  mer- 
cies are  vouchsafed. 

And,  indeed,  the  general  principle  of  the  church 

visible  is  so  inseparable  from  the  Christian  style 

and  doctrine,  that  its  most  strenuous  opposers  are 

unconsciously  admitting  it  every  hour  of  their 
Vol.  IV.  4 


26  Church  of  God. 

lives.  They  talk  habitually  of  "  the  church ;  the 
faith  of  the  church ;  the  worship  of  the  church ; 
the  sufferings  of  the  church;  God's  dealings 
with  his  church,"  and  a  thousand  things  of  like 
import.  Let  them  ask  what  they  mean  by  such 
expressions  ?  They  will  not  say,  "  a  particular 
congregation ;"  and  if  they  say  "  the  election  of 
grace,"  they  will  speedily  contradict  themselves, 
and  fact,  and  the  word  of  God  too.  Their  whole 
language,  as  Christians,  is  accommodated  to  the 
very  thing,  which,  in  form,  they  renounce.  There 
is  no  getting  along  without  it.  No  ingenuity  can 
enable  them  to  converse  five  minutes  together 
about  the  church  of  God,  as  existing  on  earth, 
without  the  introduction  of  an  idea  different  from 
either  of  those  which  they  affix  to  that  term : 
and  this  third  idea,  if  they  will  be  at  the  trouble  to 
analyze  it,  will  turn  out  to  be  no  other  than  that  of 
the  Visible  Church  Catholic. 

We  have  now  developed  our  views  of  that 
phrase,  "  the  church,"  and  assigned  our  reasons 
for  them :  the  reader  will,  therefore,  recollect, 
when  he  meets  with  it  in  the  course  of  our  dis- 
quisitions, that  we  mean  by  it  the  aggregate  body 
of  those  who  profess  the  true  religion :  all  making 
up  but  one  Society,  of  which  the  Bible  is  the  sta- 
tute book ;  Jesus  Christ  the  head ;  and  a  cove- 
nant relation  the  uniting  bond. 


27 


CHURCH  OF  GOD. 


No.  II. 
On  its  first  Organization. 


In  the  preceding  number  we  have  proved  the 
existence  of  a  Visible  Church  Catholic  ;  and  that 
this  is  the  thing  intended  by  such  spiritual  phrases 
as  "  the  Church  of  God,"  "  the  house  of  God," 
"  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  But  it  does  not  more 
certainly  exist,  than  it  exists  in  virtue  of  a  divine 
interposition.  None  but  the  living  God  could  set 
up,  protect,  and  govern,  his  own  kingdom.  The 
question  is,  when,  and  where,  and  how,  so  singu- 
lar a  society  was  instituted  ?  The  question  is  of 
moment,  as  being  connected  with  interesting 
views  of  the  external  economy  of  salvation.  Let 
us  attempt  to  answer  it. 

We  know  by  experience  that  the  church  of 
God  was  in  the  world  before  us.  So  did  our  fa- 
thers. So  did  the  previous  generation :  and  in 
this  manner  the  historical  fact  may  be  deduced 
from  the  days  of  the  apostles.     The  "  Church," 


28  Church  of  God. 

therefore,  has  not  been  created  since  their  days. 
Was  it  created  then  ?  No  :  the  apostles  found  it, 
as  we  found  it,  older  than  themselves.  Their 
writings  are  full  of  its  privileges,  its  ordinances, 
and  other  peculiarities  ;  but  contain  not  a  single 
hint  of  its  originating  with  them.  They  uniform- 
ly suppose  its  prior  establishment,  and  speak  of  it 
as  having  been  long  and  familiarly  understood. 
Guided  by  the  clue  which  they  have  put  into  our 
hands,  we  go  back  to  the  books  of  the  prophets, 
and  meet  the  same  supposition  there.  We  pro- 
ceed, with  similar  success,  through  the  Levitical 
law,  and  the  Sinai-covenant ;  we  pass  the  age  of 
Moses,  and  arrive  at  the  Father  of  the  faithful. 
Here  the  clue  runs  out.  No  ingenuity  can  fol- 
low it  further.  People  of  God  there  were ;  pro- 
mises of  God  there  were ;  gracious  revelations, 
and  acceptable  worship  of  God,  there  were  :  but 
a  Church  of  God,  organized  upon  the  principle 
of  visible  unity,  and  standing  in  such  relation 
to  him  as  it  did  in  after  ages ;  such  a  Church, 
before  the  vocation  of  Abram,  there  was  not, 
nor  any  thing  which  bore  the  semblance  of  it. 
For  its  original  organization  ;  for  the  germ  of 
that  great  system  into  which  it  has  already 
grown,  and  shall  yet  grow,  we  must  look  among 
the  transactions  of  that  memorable  period  which 
elapsed  between  the  call  of  Abram  in  Ur  of  the 
Chaldees,  and  the  birth  of  his  son  Isaac. 


No.  II. — Organization.  29 

On  the  first  of  these  occasions  Jehovah  gave 
him  a  double  promise  : 

1.  A  promise  of  a  numerous  progeny,  and  great 
personal  prosperity.  /  will  make  of  thee  a  great 
nation  ;  and  I  will  bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name 
great,  and  tftou  shalt  be  a  blessing  ;  and  I  will  bless 
them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee. — 
Gen.  xii.  2,  3. 

2.  The  promise  of  his  being  a  medium  of  con- 
veying extensive  blessings  to  the  world.  In  thee 
shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed. — v.  3. 

All  the  subsequent  communications  which  God 
made  to  him  are  referrible  to  one  of  these  two 
promises.  They  were  both  called  up  at  different 
intervals,  explained,  expanded,  and  confirmed, 
till  each  of  them  became  the  basis  of  an  appro- 
priate covenant.  Let  us  briefly  mark  their  pro- 
gress. 

1.  The  promise  of  a  numerous  progeny  is  re- 
peated with  an  engagement  to  bestow  upon  them 
the  land  of  Canaan,  ch.  xii.  7.  This  promise 
was  stated  and  confirmed  in  the  most  precise 
and  ample  terms,  after  Abram  had  separated  from 
Lot,  ch.  xiii.  14.  17.  And  finally,  as  he  was 
advancing  in  years,  and  the  probability  of  its  ac- 
complishment was  proportionably  diminishing, 
the  Lord  "  came  to  him  in  a  vision,"  and  having 
cheered  him  with  this  gracious  assurance,  /  am 
thy  shield,  and  thy  exceeding  great  reward,  ch.  xv.  1 , 


30  Church  of  God. 

renewed  the    promise    concerning  his    seed,  as 
that  which  should   come    forth    out  of  his  own 
bowels  and  be  multiplied  as  the    stars  of  hea- 
ven.    The  patriarch  on  this  occasion  so  glorified 
the  divine  veracity  by  his  unshaken,  unquestioning 
faith,  that  the  scripture  saith,  it  ivas  counted  to  him 
for  righteousness,  verse  6.     The  renewed  promise 
concerning  his  progeny  was  immediately  follow- 
ed by  a  confirmation  of  the  grant  of  Canaan ; 
and  a  remarkable  pledge  that  the  grant  should  be 
executed  in  due  season.     Having,  as  he  had  been 
commanded,  slain  several  animals,  divided  their 
bodies,  and  placed  the  sections  opposite  to  each 
other,  his  senses  were  locked  up  to  every  other 
object,  and  Jehovah  disclosed  to  him  a  compre- 
hensive view  of  evils  to  come  upon  his  family  be- 
fore their  possession  of  the  promised  land.     But 
their  possession  at  the  proper  time  was  guaran- 
teed by  solemn  compact.      "  A  burning  lamp," 
the  symbol  of  the  divine  presence,  "  passed  be- 
tween those  pieces"  of  the  slain  animals,  in  token 
of  ratifying   every   stipulation  belonging   to  the 
promise  in  question.     For  in  that  same  day,  the 
Lord  made  a  covenant  with  Abram,  saying,  "  Unto 
thy  seed  have  I  given  this  land,"  8{c.  v.  8 — 21. 

Here  is  an  end  of  all  transactions  for  establish- 
ing the  first  promise.  It  was  sealed  in  the  cove- 
nant, and  never  again  occurs  by  itself  The  end 
of  this  covenant,  too  well  defined  to  be  mistaken, 


No.  II. — Organization.  31 

was  to  secure  to  Abram  a  numerous  posterity, 
and  their  inheritance  in  the  land  of.  Canaan. 
Further  it  went  not.  It  does  not  so  much  as 
mention  the  promise  relating  to  the  families  of 
the  earth  being  blessed  in  him.  And  from  the 
minuteness  with  which  every  thing  else  is  ad- 
justed, it  is  evident  that  this  last  promise,  not 
even  hinted  at,  was  not  intended  to  be  comprised 
in  the  covenant  which  secured  the  other.  Let  us 
proceed  then. 

2.  Fourteen  years  after  the  date  of  this  co- 
venant, Jehovah  appeared  again  to  Abram,  and 
made  another  covenant  with  him.  The  transac- 
tion is  thus  recorded  in  the  seventeenth  chapter 
of  Genesis :  And  when  Abram  was  ninety  years  old 
and  nine,  the  Lord  appeared  to  Abram,  and  said  unto 
him,  I  am  the  Almighty  God;  walk  before  me,  and 
be  thou  perfect  And  I  will  make  my  covenant  be 
tween  me  and  thee  ;  and  will  multiply  thee  exceed 
ingly.  And  Abram  fell  on  his  face  :  and  God  talk 
ed  with  him,  saying,  As  for  me,  behold  my  covenant 
is  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  a  father  of  many 
nations.  Neither  shall  thy  name  any  more  be  called 
Abram  ;  but  thy  name  shall  be  Abraham  :  for  a  fa- 
ther of  many  nations  have  I  made  thee.  And  I  will 
make  thee  exceeding  fruitful,  and  I  will  make  na- 
tions of  thee ;  and  kings  shall  come  out  of  thee. 
And  I  will  establish  my  covenant  between  me  and 
thee,  and  thy  seed  after   thee,  in  their  generations, 


32  Church  of  God. 

for  an  everlasting  covenant  ;  to  be  a  God  unto  thee, 

AND  TO  THY  SEED  AFTER  THEE.       And  I  will  give  Unto 

thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee,  the  land  wherein  thou 
art  a  stranger,  all  the  land  of  Canaan,  for  an  everlast- 
ing possession  ;  and  I  will  be  their  God.  And  God 
said  unto  Abraham,  Thou  shalt  keep  my  covenant 
therefore,  thou,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their  genera- 
tions. This  is  my  covenant  which  ye  shall  keep  be- 
tween me  and  you,  and  thy  seed  after  thee ;  Every 
man-child  among  you  shall  be  circumcised.  And  ye 
shall  circumcise  the  flesh  of  your  foreskin  ;  and  it  shall 
be  a  token  of  the  covenant  betwixt  me  and  you.  And 
he  that  is  eight  days  old  shall  be  circumcised  among 
you,  every  man-child  in  your  generations  ;  he  that  is 
born  in  the  house,  or  bought  with  money  of  any 
stranger,  ivhich  is  not  of  thy  seed.  He  that  is  born 
in  thy  house  and  he  that  is  bought  with  thy  money, 
must  needs  be  circumcised :  and  my  covenant  shall  be 
in  your  flesh  for  an  everlasting  covenant.  And  the 
uncircumcised  man-child,  whose  flesh  of  his  foreskin 
is  not  circumcised,  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  his 
people;  he  hath  broken  my  covenant,  ver.  1 — 14. 

Our  inquiry  is  into  the  nature  and  design  of 
this  covenant.     What  was  it  ? 

Not  a  covenant,  either  of  works  or  grace,  for 
eternal  life.  For  Abram  had  been  "  justified 
by  faith,  without  the  works  of  the  law,"  and  had 
been  interested  in  the  covenant  of  God's  grace 


No.  II. — Organization.  33 

before  this.     His  eternal  life  had  been  secured 
many  years. 

Nor  was  it  merely  a  personal  or  domestic  co- 
venant :  that  is,  one  which  provided  for  the  in- 
dividual dignity  of  the  patriarch,  and  the  pros- 
perous settlement  of  his  children  in  the  land  of 
Canaan.  This,  too,  had  been  concluded  long  be- 
fore, as  has  been  shown.  It  recognizes,6  indeed, 
all  that  was  included  in  the  personal  covenant, 
which  it  might  otherwise  be  supposed  to  super- 
sede ;  but  it  has  features  of  its  own  so  peculiar 
and  marked,  that  it  cannot  be  considered  in  any 
other  light  than  that  of  a  distinct  engagement. 

For,  besides  the  solemnity  with  which  it  was 
introduced,  and  which  would  hardly  have  prece- 
ded a  mere  repetition  of  former  grants,  it  contain- 
ed new  matter;  it  constituted  new  relations ;  and 
was  affirmed  in  an  extraordinary  manner. 

1st.  It  contained  new  matter — /  will  make  thee  a 
father  of  many  nations :  which  is  much  more  than 
can  be  interpreted  of  Abram's  literal  posterity; 
and  must  be  viewed  as  expounding  the  promise 
and  extending  the  privilege  formerly  assured  to 
him — In  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  bless- 
ed.  It  was  a  great  thing  to  be  only  an  instru- 
ment of  blessing  to  all  the  families  of  the  earth ; 
but  a  much  greater  to  be  that  instrument  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  become  what  no  other  man,  in  the 

sense  of  the  covenant,  ever  did,  or  ever  can  be- 
Vol.  IV.  5 


34  Church  of  God. 

come,  "  a  father  of  many  nations :"  and  more- 
over, a  personal  pledge,  also,  of  his  new  dignity 
was  conferred  upon  the  patriarch,  in  that  remark- 
able alteration  of  his  name  from  Abram  to  Abra- 
ham; the  former  signifying  high  Father;  and  the 
latter,  high  Father  of  a  multitude. 

2d.  It  constituted  new  relations — To  be  a  God 
unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee.  This  cannot 
be  explained  of  Abraham's  relation  to  God  as  the 
God  of  his  salvation ;  for  in  that  sense  God  was 
his  God  long  before;  and  whatever  is  the  rela- 
tion expressed,  it  grew  out  of  the  covenant  now 
made ;  It  embraced  his  seed  too.  Nor,  with  re- 
spect to  their  eternal  life,  did  God  now  engage  to 
be  their  God;  for  all  that  was  adjusted  in  the  cove- 
nant of  grace ;  and  the  privilege  could  not  reach 
beyond  those  who  were  the  actual  partakers  of 
the  same  precious  faith  with  Abraham.  Where- 
as, in  the  sense  of  this  covenant,  God  was  the  God 
of  all  Abraham's  seed,  without  exception,  under  the 
limitations  which  restricted  the  covenant  opera- 
tion first  to  Isaac,  and  afterwards  to  Jacob,  inclu- 
ding such  as  should  choose  their  God,  their  faith, 
and  their  society.  For  he  was  to  be  their  God  in 
their  generations :  i.  e.  as  soon  as  a  new  individual 
of  this  seed  was  generated,  he  was  within  the 
covenant;  and  according  to  the  tenour  of  the 
covenant,  God  was  his  God.* 

*  The  expressions  "  thy  God,"  "  my  God,"  "  our  God,"  and 
that,  so  much  and  so  properly  in  use  among   Christians,  "  our 


No.  II. — Organization.  35 

The  foregoing  retrospect  has  decided  one 
point,  to  wit,  that  the  covenant  with  Abraham  and 
his  seed,  contemplated  them  not  primarily  nor  immedi- 
ately, as  of  the  election  of  grace,  but  as  an  aggregate 
which  it  severed  from  the  bulk  of mankind  ;  and  pla- 
ced in  a  social  character  under  peculiar  relations  to  the 
most  high  God.  To  define  precisely  the  nature 
of  this  constitution,  we  must  go  a  step  further, 
and  ascertain  who  are  meant  by  "the  seed." 

It  cannot  be  the  carnal  descendants  of  Abra- 
ham exclusively ;  although  it  has  a  particular  re- 
spect to  them,  for, 

(1.)  Three  large  branches  of  that  seed  were  ac- 
tually shut  out  of  the  covenant,  i.  e.  the  children 
of  Ishmael,  of  Esau,  and  of  Keturah. 

covenant  God,"  must  always  be  interpreted  according  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  covenant  to  which  they  refer.  Common,  but  unwar- 
ranted practice,  has  limited  them  to  the  covenant  of  grace  ;  -so  that 
a  sarious  man  is  apt  to  think  he  hears  heresy,  if  they  be  ever  ap- 
plied to  any  thing  else  than  the  saving  relation  in  which  a  believer 
stands  to  God  as  his  reconciled  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  But  this  is 
a  mistake  ;  and  lies  at  the  foundation  of  many  false  and  hurtful 
opinions  of  the  Christian  Church  and  its  privileges.  The  Jews 
could,  nationally,  call  God  "  their  God  :"  They  often  did  so,  and 
with  right,  when  they  were  gross  hypocrites  in  the  article  of  their 
personal  religion.  The  Sinai-covenant  constituted  them  the  peo- 
ple of  Jehovah,  and  him  their  God,  as  really,  but  in  a  widely  dif- 
ferent sense,  as  he  was  the  covenant  God  of  Abraham,  or  of  Paul, 
for  personal  salvation.  A  due  exposition  of  this  matter  involves 
the  whole  doctrine  of  the  visible  church  catholic,  which  is  griev- 
ously misunderstood  by  most  professing  Christians  of  all  denomi- 
nations. 


36  Church  of  God. 

(2.)  The  covenant  provided  for  the  admission 
of  others,  who  never  belonged  to  that  seed.  He 
that  is  eight  days  old  shall  be  circumcised  among  you  ; 
every  man-child  in  your  generations :  he  that  is  born 
in  the  house  or  bought  with  money  of  any  stranger, 
which  is  not  of  thy  seed. 

This  principle  was  acted  upon  under  the  con- 
stitution which  was  superadded,  by  the  ministry 
of  Moses,  430  years  after.  The  stranger  who 
wished  to  keep  the  passover,  was  required  first  to 
circumcise  ali  his  males,  and  then  he  became  as 
one  born  in  the  land,  i.  e.  he  was  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  under  the  full  operation  of  the  covenant 
established  with  Abraham  and  his  seed.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Edomite,  who  sprung  from  the  loins 
of  Abraham,  was  put  upon  the  same  footing  with 
the  Egyptian  who  descended  from  Ham :  the  chil- 
dren of  both  were  received  in  the  fourth  genera- 
tion ;  neither  of  them  came  in  upon  the  plea  of 
consanguinity  with  Abraham :  nor  were  they  ad- 
mitted into  the  commonwealth  of  Israel  under  the 
idea  of  the  children  of  Israel  having  Abraham  for 
their  literal  father,  but  formally  and  explicitly  upon 
the  ground  of  their  being  "  the  congregation  of  the 
Lord."     Deut.  xxiii.  8.#     But,  being  once  incor- 

*  HUT  Snp  "  The  church   of  Jehovah  :"  the   very   expression 
which  is  translated   again   and  again   in   the  New  Testament, 
sxxXTjtfia  dsou,  "the  church  of  God."  The  fact  is,  that  all  our  Ian 
guage  in  sacred  things  is  borrowed  from  the  Old  Testament ;  and 


No.  II. — Organization,  37 

porated  with  the  natural  seed,  in  that  great  con- 
gregation, they,  too,  were  viewed  as  of  the  cove- 
nanted seed;  and  they  transmitted  their  privilege 
to  their  children  in  their  generations. 

(3.)  By  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham  he 
acquired  the  prerogative  of  being  the  "father  of 
many  nations."  This  article  is,  of  itself,  a  demon- 
stration that  the  covenant  was  of  a  much  wider 
extent  than  all  the  literal  descendants  of  Abraham 
in  the  line  of  Jacob  put  together.  They  never  did 
make  but  one  nation.  There  is  a  marked  distinc- 
tion between  them  and  these  "  many  nations ;" 
who  are  evidently  the  same  with  "  all  the  fami- 
lies of  the  earth,"  that  were  to  be  blessed  in  Abra- 
ham. The  apostle  Paul  interprets  the  phrase  by 
another ;  his  being  "  the  heir  of  the  world ;"  and 
peremptorily  denies  its  restriction  to  the  literal 
seed.     Rom.  iv.  13,  16,  17. 

The  argument  is  short.  Abraham's  seed  com- 
prehends all  those  to  whom  he  is  the  father :  but 
he  is  the  father  of  many  nations ;  therefore,  these 
many  nations  are  to  be  accounted  as  his  seed. 
Again :  the  covenant  was  made  with  Abraham 
and  with  his  seed :  therefore,  the  covenant  embra- 

cannot  be  understood  without  a  reference  to  it;  and  those  who 
clamourously  demand  the  origin  of  every  thing  Christian  to  be  pro- 
duced from  the  New  Testament,  show  that  they  understand  neither 
the  New  Testament  nor  the  Old,  nor  yet  that  very  Christianity 
about  which  they  prate.  Christianity  is  more,  a  great  deal  more, 
than  a  few  doctrines. 


38  Church  of  God. 

ced  these  many  nations  who  are  included  in  his 
seed. 

3.  This  covenant  was  affirmed  in  an  extraordi- 
nary manner ;  viz.  by  the  rite  of  circumcision. 
This,  saith  God,  is  my  covenant  which  ye  shall  keep 
between  me  and  you,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  every 
man-child  among  you  shall  be  circumcised.  The 
uses  of  this  rite  were  two. 

First.  It  certified  to  the  seed  of  Abraham,  by  a 
token  in  the  flesh  of  their  males,  that  the  covenant 
with  their  great  progenitor  was  in  force;  that  they 
were  under  its  full  operation ;  and  entitled  to  all 
the  benefits  immediately  derived  from  it.  But 
circumcision  had  a  further  use  ;  for, 

Secondly,  The  apostle  Paul  informs  us  that  it 
was  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the  faith  which 
Abraham  had,  being  yet  uncircumcised,  that  he  might 
be  the  father  of  all  them  that  believe,  though  they  be  not 
circumcised ;  that  righteousness  might  be  imputed 
unto  them  also.  Rom.  iv.  11.  In  this  connexion 
it  certified, 

That  Abraham  was  justified  by  faith  . 

That  the  doctrine  and  the  privilege  of  the 
"  righteousness  of  faith,"  were  to  be  perpetuated 
among  his  seed  by  the  operation  of  God's  cove- 
nant with  him : 

That  the  justification  of  a  sinner  is  by  faith 
alone ;  «  righteousness"  being  «  imputed"  to  all 
them  that  believe,"  and  to  them  only ;  who  by  the 


No.  II. — Organization.  39 


5 


very  fact  of  their  believing,  become,  in  the  highest 
sense,  children  of  Abraham,  and  are  accordingly 
blessed  with  him. 

While,  therefore,  the  sign  of  circumcision  was. 
in  every  circumcised  person,  a  seal  of  God's  co- 
venant with  Abraham  and  with  his  seed,  it  was 
to  all  who  walked  in  the  faith  of  Abraham  a  seal 
of  their  personal  interest  in  that  same  righteous- 
ness by  which  Abraham  was  justified. 

From  these  general  premises  the  conclusion  is 
direct  and  irrefragable,  that  the  covenant  with 
Abraham  was  designed  to  assure  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  second  great  promise  made  to  him 
while  he  was  yet  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  ;  and  that 
the  effect  of  it  was  to  bring  him  and  his  family, 
with  all  who  should  join  them  in  a  kindred  profes- 
sion, into  a  church  estate,  i.  e.  was  a  covenant  ec- 
clesiastical, by  which  Jehovah  organized  the  visi- 
ble church,  as  one  distinct  spiritual  society;  and 
according  to  which  all  his  after  dealings  with  her 
were  to  be  regulated.  Hitherto  she  had  been 
scattered,  and  existed  in  detached  parts.  Now  it 
was  the  gracious  intention  of  God  to  reduce  her 
into  a  compact  form  that  she  might  be  prepared 
for  the  good  things  to  come.  Since  Abraham  was 
designated  as  the  man  from  whom  the  MESSIAH 
was  to  spring  ;  since  he  had  signally  glorified  the 
Lord's  veracity,  not  staggering  at  his  promise 
through  unbelief,  he  selected  this  his  servant  as 


40  Church  of  God. 

the  favoured  man  in  whose  family  he  would  com- 
mence the  organization  of  that  church  in  which 
he  designed  to  perpetuate  the  righteousness  of 
faith.  With  this  church,  as  with  a  whole,  com- 
posed, in  the  first  instance,  of  Abraham's  family, 
and  to  be  increased  afterwards  by  the  addition  of 
all  such  as  should  own  his  faith,  was  the  covenant 
made.  This  is  that  covenant  after  which  we  are 
inquiring. 

II.  This  covenant  has  never  been  annulled. 
The  proof  of  the  affirmative  lies  upon  the  affirm- 
er.  When  ?  Where  ?  and  by  whom  was  the  act 
for  annulling  it  promulged  ?  The  "  vanishing 
away"  of  the  ceremonial  law  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  but  to  illustrate, 
confirm,  and  diffuse  its  blessings.  The  former 
was  a  temporary  constitution  superadded  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  effect  to  some  provisions  of  the 
latter,  and  expired  by  its  own  limitation.  The 
apostle  Paul  refutes  the  notion  that  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  ceremonial  law,  could  at  all  prejudice 
the  pre-existing  covenant  with  Abraham  :  Gal.  iii. 
15 — 17.  And  if  not  its  commencement,  why  its 
termination  ?  And  if  the  abolishing  of  the  cere- 
monial law  does  not  infer  the  cessation  of  the 
Abrahamic  covenant,  there  is  not  a  shadow  of 
either  proof  or  presumption  that  it  has  ceased. 
If  there  is,  let  it  be  produced.  But  not  to  rest 
the  matter  here,  we  may  observe, 


No.  II. — Organization.  41 


.5 


1st.  That  the  promise  of  Abraham's  being  a 
father  of  many  nations,  who  are,  therefore,  his 
seed,  never  was,  nor  could  be  fulfilled,  before  the 
Christian  dispensation.  The  apostle  Paul  was 
certainly  of  this  mind ;  for  he  proves  the  calling 
of  the  Gentiles  from  Abraham's  covenant ;  and  if 
the  calling  of  the  Gentiles  to  be  fellow-heirs  in 
the  church  of  God  with  the  literal  descendants  of 
the  patriarch,  was  grounded  upon  his  covenant, 
this,  again,  shows  that  they  belong  to  that  seed 
with  whom  it  was  made ;  and,  consequently,  that 
it  is  in  full  force  and  virtue  at  this  hour.  The 
apostle  presses  this  point  with  great  ardour ;  and 
places  it  before  us  in  various  lights.  If  ye  be 
Chris  fs,  says  he,  "  then  are  ye  Abraham }s  seed,  and 
heirs  according  to  the  promise"  What  promise  ? 
Not  simply  the  promise  of  eternal  life  in  Christ. 
There  was  no  necessity  of  their  being  Abraham's 
seed  to  inherit  this  promise — but  manifestly,  the 
promise  of  Abraham's  covenant  to  which  they 
were  entitled  in  virtue  of  their  being  his  seed  : 
i.  e.  the  promise,  /  will  be  a  God  unto  thee  and  to  thy 
seed  after  thee.  If,  then,  they  who  are  Christ's  are 
Abraham's  seed ;  and  being  so  are  heirs  according 
to  the  promise  ;  the  covenant,  containing  the  pro- 
mise, is  in  full  virtue,  as  they  belong  to  the  seed 
with  which  it  was  made. 

2d.  If  the  Abrahamic  covenant  is  no  longer  in 

force,  the  church  of  God,  as  a  visible  public  so- 
Vol.  IV.  6 


42  Church  of  God. 

ciety,  is  not,  in  any  sense,  connected  with  him  by 
covenant  relation.  This  may  weigh  light  with 
those  who  discard  the  doctrine  of  a  visible  Catho- 
lic church ;  but  it  draws  much  deeper  than  they 
suspect.  The  whole  administration  of  the  cove- 
nant of  grace  proceeds  upon  the  principle  that 
there  is  such  a  church.  All  the  ordinances 
are  given  to  it ;  all  the  promises  are  made  to  it. 
To  the  elect,  as  such,  they  are  not,  cannot  be  giv- 
en. The  application  of  them  would  be  impossible 
without  a  special  revelation  :  and  the  whole  ad- 
ministration of  the  covenant  of  grace,  by  visible 
means,  would  be  at  an  end.  Nor  is  a  single  in- 
stance to  be  found,  excepting  in  virtue  of  imme- 
diate revelation,  in  which  the  Lord  ever  gave  an 
ordinance  or  a  promise  to  particular  churches. 
They  always  receive  their  privileges  in  virtue  of 
their  being  parts  of  the  church  universal.  Now 
this  church  universal,  which  is  the  body  of  Christ, 
the  temple  of  his  Spirit,  the  depository  of  his 
grace,  stands  in  no  covenant  relation  to  God,  in 
her  public  character,  if  the  covenant  with  Abra- 
ham is  annulled.  For  if  she  does,  then  another 
covenant  has  been  made  with  her.  But  no  such 
covenant  has  been  made.  The  new  covenant 
which  the  Lord  promised  to  make  with  her  at 
the  introduction  of  the  evangelical  dispensation, 
was  to  supersede,  not  the  Abrahamic,  but  the 
Sinai-covenant.     It  is  so  far  from  setting  aside, 


No.  II. — Organization.  43 

that  it  implies,  and  establishes  the  former  ;  for  it 
is  promised  to  her  as  that  church  which  was  or- 
ganized and  perpetuated  under  Abraham's  cove- 
nant. If,  therefore,  that  covenant  is  removed,  and 
no  other  has  replaced  it,  the  church,  in  her  social 
capacity,  is  further  off  from  God  than  she  was 
under  the  law;  and  all  the  mercies  to  which,  in 
that  capacity,  she  once  had  a  claim,  are  swept 
away.  But  this  is  impossible.  Ln  fact,  the  scrip- 
tures uniformly  suppose  the  existence  of  such 
public  federal  relations:  and  abound  with  pro- 
mises growing  out  of  them.  Thus  speaks  the 
prophet — "  The  Redeemer  shall  come  to  Zion, 
and  unto  them  that  turn  from  transgression  in 
Jacob,  saith  the  Lord.  As  for  me,  this  is  my 
covenant  with  them,  saith  the  Lord  :  my  Spirit  that 
is  upon  thee,  and  my  words  which  I  have  put  in 
thy  mouth,  shall  not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth,  nor 
out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  seed,  nor  out  of  the  mouth 
of  thy  seed's  seed,  saith  the  Lord,  from  hence- 
forth and  for  ever." — Is.  lix.  21,  22. 

This  is  a  prediction  of  New  Testament  times  : 
so  the  apostle  applies  it,  Rom.  xi.  26.  And  he  ap- 
plies it  to  the  recovery  of  the  Jews,  which  has  not 
yet  happened.  The  covenant,  therefore,  is  in 
force,  and  it  operates  through  the  medium  of  Gen- 
tile converts ;  the  Lord's  Spirit  has  long  ago  de- 
parted out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Jews.  But  the 
promise  was  made  to  the  church,  in  her  covenanted 


44  Church  of  God. 

character ;  her  members  in  constant  succession 
are  the  "  seed"  out  of  whose  mouth  the  divine 
Spirit  shall  not  depart ;  and  when  the  Jews  are 
restored,  they  will  be  brought  into  this  very  cove- 
nanted church,  and  be  again  recognized  as  a  part 
of  the  "  seed."  But  why  multiply  words  ?  There 
is  no  explaining  the  frequent  recurrence  of  the 
inspired  writers  to  the  covenant  of  Abraham,  nor 
any  propriety  in  their  reasoning,  if  it  is  not  of  per- 
petual operation. 

3d.  In  discussing  the  great  question  concerning 
the  rejection  of  the  Jews,  the  vocation  of  the 
Gentiles,  and  the  future  restoration  of  the  former, 
the  apostle  reasons  upon  principles  which  are 
most  false  and  impertinent,  if  the  Abrahamic  co- 
venant has  ceased.     Rom.  xi.  17 — 24. 

He  tells  the  Gentiles,  that  they  were  "  a  wild 
olive  tree ;"  and  that  the  Jews  were  the  "  good 
olive  tree" — This  cannot  refer  to  their  natural 
state  as  sinners  before  God ;  for  in  this  respect 
there  was  "  no  difference" — nor  to  their  state  as 
sinners  saved  by  grace  :  for  from  this  state  there 
is  no  excision ;  it  can  refer  to  nothing  but  their 
visible  church  estate ;  i.  e.  to  their  public  relation 
to  God  as  a  covenanted  society,  What,  then,  was 
this  "  good  olive  tree,"  from  which  the  Jewish 
branches  were  "  broken  off;"  while  the  Gentiles 
were  "  graffed  in  ?"  Evidently  the  visible  church 
organized  under  the  covenant  made  with  Abra- 


No.  II. — Organization.  45 

ham.  There  was  no  other  from  which  the  Jews 
could  be  cast  off.  The  ceremonial  law  was  su- 
perseded. It  was  no  excision  at  all  to  be  cut  off 
from  a  church  which  did  not  exist ;  nor  could 
the  Gentiles  be  introduced  into  it.  But  what  says 
the  apostle  ?  That  the  "  olive  tree"  was  cut  down 
or  rooted  up  ?  That  it  had  withered  trunk  and 
branch  ?  Or  was  no  longer  the  care  of  the  divine 
planter  ?  Nothing  like  it  !  He  asserts  the  continu- 
ance of  the  olive  tree  in  life  and  vigour ;  the  exci- 
sion of  some  worthless  branches;  and  the  insertion 
of  new  ones  in  their  stead.  "  Thou,"  says  he, 
addressing  the  Gentile,  "  partakest  of  the  root 
and  fatness  of  the  olive  tree."  Translate  this  into 
less  figurative  language,  and  what  is  the  import  ? 
That  the  church  of  God,  his  visible  church,  taken 
into  peculiar  relations  to  himself  by  the  Abra- 
hamic  covenant,  subsists  without  injury  through 
the  change  of  dispensation  and  of  members. 
Branches  indeed  may  be  out  off,  but  the  rooted 
trunk  stands  firm,  and  other  branches  occupy  the 
places  of  those  which  are  lopped  away.  The 
Jews  are  cast  out  of  the  church,  but  the  church 
perished  not  with  them.  There  was  still  left  the 
trunk  of  the  olive  tree ;  there  was  still  fatness  in 
its  roots :  it  stands  in  the  same  fertile  soil,  the  co- 
venant of  God  :  and  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles 
into  the  room  of  the  excommunicated  Jews, 
makes  them  a  part  of  that  covenanted  church ; 


46  Church  of  God. 

as  branches  graffed  into  the  olive  tree  and  flourish- 
ing in  its  fatness,  are  identified  with  the  tree.  It 
is  impossible  for  ideas  conceived  by  the  mind  of 
man,  or  uttered  in  his  language,  to  assert  more 
peremptorily  the  continuance  of  the  church  under 
that  very  covenant  which  was  established  with 
Abraham  and  his  seed.  And  this  doctrine,  un- 
derstood before  the  apostleship  of  Paul,  was 
maintained  by  John  the  Baptist ;  "  Think  not" 
cried  he  to  the  multitudes  who  crowded  around 
him,  "  think  not  to  say  within  yourselves,  We  have 
•Abraham  to  our  father  :  for  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that 
God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children  unto 
Abraham.''''  The  hearers  of  the  Baptist,  like  many 
modern  professors  of  Christianity,  supposed  that 
the  duration  of  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  and 
of  the  prerogative  of  the  Jews  as  God's  peculiar 
people,  were  the  same.  It  is  a  mistake,  replies 
the  second  Elijah  ;  you  may  all  be  cast  off;  you 
may  all  perish ;  but  the  oath  to  Abraham  shall  not 
be  violated.  God  will  be  at  no  loss  to  provide 
"  seed"  who  shall  be  as  much  within  his  covenant 
as  yourself,  even  though  he  should  create  them 
out  of  the  stones  of  the  earth.  The  threat  was 
vain :  it  was  empty  noise ;  it  was  turning  the 
thunders  of  God  into  a  scarecrow  for  children,  if 
the  covenant  with  Abraham  was  not  to  survive 
the  law  of  peculiarity,  and  be  replenished  with 
other  seed  than  that  which  sprung  from  his  loins 
according  to  the  flesh. 


47 


CHURCH  OF  GOD. 


No.  III. 
On  the  mode  of  perpetuating  the  Visible  Church. 

It  has  been  shown,  in  the  preceding  number, 
tnat  the  covenant  with  Abraham  and  his  seed, 
was  an  ecclesiastical  covenant ;  i.  e.  was  made  with 
the  visible  church,  and  is  of  equal  duration.  We 
proceed  to  another  and  very  important  part  of  our 
inquiry.  How  were  the  covenant  character  and  privi- 
lege to  be  transmitted  from  one  age  to  another,  till  the 
consummation  of  all  things  ?  Or,  which  is  the  same, 
how  was  a  succession  of  the  "  see  J"  to  be  preserved  ? 

This  was  to  be  accomplished  in  two  ways. 

1st.  In  all  cases  of  original  connexion  with  the 
church ;  that  is,  where  the  individual  was  without 
the  bond  of  the  covenant,  previous  to  his  being  of 
adult  age,  he  was  to  be  admitted  on  his  personal 
faith  in  that  religion  which  the  covenant  was  in- 
stituted to  secure,  This  term  of  communion  with 
the  people  of  God  has  never  varied.  It  remains, 
at  the  present  hour,  precisely  what  it  was  at  the 


48  Church  of  God. 

formation  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant.  They  who 
do  not  enjoy,  or  have  not  embraced,  the  gospel, 
are  "  without"  They  are  "  strangers,"  "  foreign- 
ers," "  aliens,"  "  afar  off,"  and  must  continue 
such  till  they  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
No  Jewish  or  Pagan  foot  must  cross  the  thresh- 
old of  the  church,  without  "  repentance  toward 
God,  and  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
About  this  there  is  no  dispute.  About  the  quali- 
fications requisite  in  adults  for  their  admission  to 
the  privileges  of  the  church,  there  is  not  the  same 
agreement. 

Some  think  that  a  general  profession  of  Chris- 
tianity is  all  which  she  may  exact ;  alleging  in  sup- 
port of  their  opinion,  the  example  of  the  apostles, 
who  demanded,  say  they,  nothing  more  than  a 
confession  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  ; 
and  therefore  they  conclude  that  nothing  more 
ought  to  be  demanded  now. 

But  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  this  proposition 
contains  the  substance  of  all  the  doctrines  and 
predictions  of  the  Old  Testament,  concerning  the 
Redeemer's  person  and  work.  No  man  could 
give  it  his  intelligent  assent,  without  a  knowledge 
of  those  doctrines  and  predictions ;  nor  repose 
his  hope  upon  their  truth,  without  that  divine  faith 
which  receives  the  whole  testimony  of  God,  and 
operates,  with  a  purifying  influence,  upon  the 
heart  and  life.     The  scriptures  refer  the  existence 


No.  III. — Transmission.  49 

of  such  a  confession,  when  not  hypocritical,  to  a 
much  higher  cause,  and  attribute  to  the  confession 
itself  much  stronger  effects,  than  are  even  thought 
of  by  those  who,  at  this  day,  would  establish  it  as 
the  all-comprehending  term  of  Christian  fellow- 
ship. "  I  give  you  to  understand,"  says  Paul, 
1  Cor.  xii.  3.  "  that  no  man  can  say  that  Jesus  is 
the  Lord,  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost" — And  John 
1,  Ep.  v.  1.5.  "  Whosoever  belie veth  that  Jesus 
is  the  Christ,  is  born  of  God." — "  Who  is  he  that 
overcometh  the  world,  but  he  that  believeth  that 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God."  It  is  evident,  upon  the 
very  face  of  these  passages,  that  nothing  was  fur- 
ther from  the  mind  and  the  practice  of  the  Apos- 
tles, than  the  recognizing  as  Christians  and  the 
admitting  into  Christian  fellowship,  all  or  any  who 
barely  assented  to  the  general  proposition,  that 
"  Jesus  is  the  Christ."  Much  less  can  such  an 
admission  be  justifiable  now,  when  millions  learn, 
from  mere  habit,  to  repeat  that  proposition  with- 
out weighing  its  sense,  or  even  comprehending  its 
terms.  Christianity  is  not  a  thing  of  rote.  And 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  multitudes  would  flock 
to  the  church,  reiterating  as  often  as  you  would 
wish,  their  belief  that  "  Jesus  is  the  Christ ;"  who 
should,  nevertheless,  be  found,  upon  a  strict  ex- 
amination, to  be  either  ignorant,  or  enemies,  of 
every  truth  comprehended  in  their  own  creed. 
This  cannot  be.     Christianity  is  not  chargeable 

Vol.  IV.  7 


50  Church  of  God. 

with  the  madness  of  cherishing  in  her  own  bosom, 
and  that  designedly,  the  seeds  of  her  own 
destruction. 

Some  think  that  soundness  in  the  doctrines  of 
revelation,  without  scrutiny  into  practical  charac- 
ter, or,  at  least,  without  solicitude  on  that  point, 
is  sufficient  to  justify  admission  into  the  chilrch, 
and  to  the  enjoyment  of  her  privileges. 

This  opinion  is  not  more  correct  than  the  for- 
mer. It  strips  the  church  of  her  responsibility  on 
the  score  of  moral  purity;  annihilates  her  duties 
with  regard  to  the  chief  end  of  her  creation ;  viz. 
that  she  might  be  the  mother  of  a  holy  seed,  of  a 
"  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works ;"  dis- 
severs the  connexion  between  faith  in  Christ  and 
conformity  to  his  image;  and  acts,  not  indeed 
upon  the  notion  that  provided  a  man's  life  be  good, 
his  faith  is  a  matter  of  indifference ;  but  upon  its 
converse,  equally  absurd  and  abominable,  that  a 
right  belief  may  dispense  with  the  obligations  of 
holiness. 

Some  think,  that  doctrinal  soundness  combined 
with  fair  morals,  fixes  the  limit  of  our  inquiries. 
This  opinion,  though  far  preferable  to  the  others, 
labours,  notwithstanding,  under  a  material  defect. 
It  shuts  out  investigation  of  the  history  of  a  man's 
heart  and  conscience ;  in  other  words,  of  his  reli- 
gious experience.  This  must  certainly  form  a 
part  of  his  profession  which  is  to  be  tried  by  the 


No.  III. — Transmission.  51 

rules  of  the  written  word.  The  gospel,  if  received 
in  truth,  has  revolutionized  his  soul.  It  has  taught 
him  to  hate  sin,  his  own  sin,  and  to  abhor  him- 
self for  it  before  God — It  has  taught  him  to  re- 
nounce dependence  upon  his  own  righteousness ; 
abjuring  it,  in  every  form  and  degree,  as  the  ground 
of  his  acceptance  with  his  judge ;  to  rest,  with  ab- 
solute and  exclusive  reliance,  upon  the  righteous- 
ness of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  to  live  by  faith 
upon  him  as  the  Lord  his  strength.  They  who 
have  but  slightly  attended  to  facts,  need  not  be 
told  that  it  is  very  possible,  and  very  common, 
to  have  a  speculative  orthodoxy  and  an  unstained 
reputation,  with  as  complete  an  absence  of  the 
whole  of  this  spiritual  efficacy  of  the  gospel  upon 
the  heart,  as  if  no  such  thing  were  either  men- 
tioned in  the  bible  or  existed  in  our  world.  And 
it  would  be  strange  indeed,  if  the  church  of  God, 
in  admitting  men  to  her  distinguished  privileges, 
should  never  ask  a  question  concerning  the  most 
glorious  and  only  saving  effect  of  that  very  gos- 
pel which  her  members  are  supposed  to  believe. 
Some,  in  fine,  think  that  religious  experience  is 
the  sole  test  of  admission  into  the  church.  Pro- 
vided a  man  can  satisfy  them  of  his  conversion, 
and  they  are  not  always  hard  to  be  satisfied ;  if 
he  can  relate  a  plausible  story  of  his  feelings;  can 
talk  of  his  distress,  and  of  his  comfort ;  and  has 
learnt  to  deal  in  joys  and  ecstacies,  it  is  enough. 


52  Church  of  God. 

How  he  came  by  his  experience,  he  probably  can- 
not tell,  and  his  spiritual  guides  often  omit  to  ask. 
And  yet  this  is  a  point  upon  which  often  turns  the 
discrimination  between  true  and  false  in  religion; 
between  rational  experience  and  fanaticism ;  be- 
tween the  good  influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
and  their  counterfeits.  It  is  lamentable  that  so 
large  a  proportion  of  conversions,  which  are  the 
fruit  of  tumultuous  meetings,  and  the  theme  of 
newspaper  praise,  prove  to  be  of  this  class.  Dark 
views,  gross  ignorance,  and  even  flat  contradic- 
tions in  the  simplest  truths  of  Christianity,  are  no 
obstacle.  Thousands  go  from  sin  to  God ;  from 
nature  to  grace  ;  from  condemnation  to  pardon ; 
from  despondency  to  rapture  ;  and  when  interro- 
gated about  the  process  by  which  this  marvellous 
transition  was  accomplished,  have  little  or  nothing 
to  say,  but  that  they  have  felt  so  !  And,  what  is  still 
more  astonishing,  they  have  been  "  translated  from 
darkness  to  light,"  without  being  illuminated !  For 
the  uttering  of  incoherent  exclamations,  and  the 
chattering  over  a  set  of  phrases,  though  accom- 
panied with  vehement  passion,  with  shrieks  and 
fallings,  and  faintings,  and  fits,  and  trances,  must 
not  pass  for  divine  illumination,  nor  divine  influ- 
ence of  any  sort.  When  we  consider  the  mecha- 
nism of  the  human  affections,  and  how  rapidly 
emotion  is  propagated,  by  sympathy,  through 
promiscuous  crowds,  we  can  explain  all  the  phe 


No.  III. — Transmission.  53 

nomena  which,  in  this  matter,  have  lately  attrac- 
ted the  public  wonder,  without  recourse  to  super- 
natural agency ;  and  must  be  convinced  that  no- 
thing can  be  more  precarious  than  the  tenure  by 
which  these  sudden  converts  hold  their  profession. 
And  although  many,  to  whom,  therefore,  these 
remarks  will  not  apply,  disclaim  that  wild  frenzy 
which  others  have  rashly  mistaken  for  an  effusion 
of  the  divine  Spirit,  yet  it  is  not  easy  to  make  mere 
experience  the  rule  of  estimating  Christian  cha- 
racter, and  of  admitting  to  Christian  privilege ; 
and  at  the  same  time  keep  clear  of  extravagances. 
For  let  the  imagination,  freed  from  the  restraint 
of  purified  reason,  be  once  excited ;  let  it  be  im- 
pelled by  a  fervid  but  blind  devotion,  and  it  will 
rush,  with  resistless  impetuosity,  into  excesses  fit 
only  to  dishonour  the  Christian  name,  and  to  de- 
solate the  Christian  church. — Wherever  the  un- 
derstanding is  dismissed  from  religion,  nothing 
but  mischief  can  ensue ;  and  this  is  always  done, 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  where  the  exercises 
of  the  heart  are  assumed  as  the  basis  of  our  judg- 
ment without  ascertaining  their  dependence  upon 
knowledge. 

Upon  the  whole  we  may  conclude,  that  an  adult, 
in  order  to  his  right  reception  into  the  Christian 
church, 

Must  be  acquainted  with,  at  least,  the  leading 
doctrines  of  revelation : 


54  Church  of  God. 

Must  be  able  to  "  give  a  reason  of  the  hope  that 
is  in  him,"  by  showing  that  these  doctrines  have 
operated  upon  his  experience : 

Must  make  an  open,  unequivocal  avowal  of  the 
Redeemer's  name :  and, 

Must  be  vigilant  in  the  habitual  discharge  of 
his  religious  and  moral  duty. 

He,  in  whom  these  things  meet,  is  a  Christian, 
and  to  be  recognized  as  such  by  the  Christian 
church. 

But  now  arises  another  question.  Does  the 
church,  in  bringing  an  adult  to  the  test  of  the  fore- 
going requisites,  and  pronouncing  him  worthy  of 
her  communion,  act  upon  the  principle  of  her  dis- 
covering that  he  is  a  regenerated  person;  and 
that  he  really  is,  in  the  sight  of  God,  what  he  ap- 
pears to  be  in  the  sight  of  men  ? 

By  no  means.  The  church,  as  conducted  by  a 
system  of  instituted  ordinances,  which  men  admin- 
ister, is  altogether  visible  ;  and  it  would  be  absurd 
to  make  an  invisible  quality  the  criterion  of  visi- 
ble communion. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  fell  into  no  mis- 
takes, actually  did  admit  an  unconverted  man,  a 
hypocrite,  a  traitor,  a  devil,  into  the  number  not 
only  of  his  disciples,  but  even  of  his  apostles : 
thereby  instructing  his  church  that  the  secret 
state  of  the  soul  before  God  is  not  to  be  her  rule 
of  judgment.     He  knew,  from  the  beginning,  who 


No.  III. — Transmission.  55 

should  betray  him  \  and  yet  permitted  the  infidel 
to  mingle  in  his  train  \  to  continue  in  his  service, 
to  share  the  honours  of  his  sincere  followers ;  and 
never  cast  him  off  till  he  had  proved  his  rotten- 
ness by  an  overt  act  of  treachery.  All  which 
would  have  been  impossible,  had  the  reality  of  a 
gracious  condition  been  the  ground  of  church 
connexion.  And  it  betrays  something  very  dif- 
ferent from  modesty  to  set  up  a  term  of  religious 
fellowship  which  would  convict  the  master  himself 
of  corrupting  his  own  church. 

God  has  reserved  to  himself  the  prerogative  of 
exploring  secret  motives.  "  I,  Jehovah,  search  the 
heart.  I  try  the  reins."  And  it  is  a  source  of  in- 
effable consolation  that  none  but  himself  can  try 
them.  The  obtrusion  of  the  creature  is  complete- 
ly barred  out  by  his  own  unchangeable  constitu- 
tion. I  bless  him  for  it.  I  had  rather  perish  than 
have  my  heart  searched  by  men  or  angels  ;  and  I 
put  them  all  at  defiance  to  declare  what  passes  in 
my  breast  any  further  than  I  myself  inform  them 
by  my  own  act.  ■  Whoever,  therefore,  maintains 
that  the  reality  of  conversion  is  the  reason  of  ad- 
mission to  Christian  privilege,  lays  down  a  rule 
which  never  can  be  applied.  There  are  none 
who  furnish  more  conclusive  evidence  of  its  nulli- 
ty, than  those  who  most  warmly  contend  for  it. 
A  single  observation  will  put  this  in  a  strong  light. 
They  who,  without  the  aid  of  a  revelation  either 


56  Church  of  God. 

from  myself  or  my  creator,  can  read  my  hidden 
thoughts  on  one  occasion,  can  read  them  on  every 
other.  Therefore,  if  they  can  ascertain  sincerity 
in  religion  they  can  equally  ascertain  it  in  their 
civil  transactions  ;  and  consequently  would  never 
be  imposed  upon.  But  to  such  lengths  they  do 
not  pretend  to  go;  that  is,  they  proclaim  the 
falsity  of  their  own  doctrine,  and  the  futility  of 
their  own  rule.  How  dare  they  who  cannot  de- 
tect a  perjury  in  the  custom-house,  or  a  lie  in  the 
shop,  represent  themselves  as  able  to  detect  hy- 
pocrisy in  religious  profession  ?  It  is  foolish  con- 
ceit ;  it  is  contemptible  quackery.  Take  notice 
how  they  use  their  own  rule.  They  get  a  man  to 
recount  his  experience.  If  satisfied  with  that, 
they  set  him  down  as  converted.  You  see,  that 
for  the  facts  on  which  they  build  their  judgment, 
they  have  only  his  own  word ;  and  yet  they  talk 
of  ascertaining  his  state !  Two  plain  questions  on 
this  head,  and  we  shall  leave  them  : 

If  their  man  should  say  nothing  at  all,  how 
would  they  find  out  his  state  ? 

If  he  should  happen  to  amuse  them  with  a  tale 
of  experience  such  as  they  approve,  and  he  never 
felt,  where  is  their  knowledge  of  his  state  ? 

As  for  those  who  undertake  to  discern  spirits, 
without  producing  their  authority  from  the  father 
of  spirits,  under  his  broad  seal  of  miracles,  no- 
thing is  so  amazing  about  them  as  their  effrontery. 


No.  III. — Transmission  57 

All  sober  men  should  eschew  them  as  jugglers 
and  impostors.  An  astrologer  who  cast  nativities 
from  the  aspect  of  the  planets;  or  a  strolling 
gipsey  who  predicts  the  history  of  life  from  the 
palm  of  a  child's  hand,  is  as  worthy  of  credence 
as  they. 

The  result  is,  that  when,  according  to  our  best 
judgment,  we  perceive  those  things  which  are  the 
known  and  regular  effects  of  Christian  principle, 
we  are  to  account  their  possessor  a  brother,  and 
to  embrace  him  accordingly.  In  other  words,  a 
credible  profession  of  Christianity,  is  all  that  the 
church  may  require  in  order  to  communion.  She 
may  be  deceived;  her  utmost  caution  may  be, 
and  often  has  been,  ineffectual  to  keep  bad  men 
from  her  sanctuary.  And  this,  too,  without  her 
fault,  as  she  is  not  omniscient.  But  she  has  no 
right  to  suspect  sincerity,  to  refuse  privilege,  or  to 
inflict  censure,  where  she  can  put  her  finger 
upon  nothing  repugnant  to  the  love  or  the  laws 
of  God. 

It  must  of  necessity  be  so.  For  the  principle 
now  laid  down  is  inseparable  from  human  nature, 
and  pervades  every  form  of  human  society.  Ex- 
amine them  all,  from  the  great  commonwealth  of 
the  nation  down  to  the  petty  club,  and  you  will 
meet  with  no  exception.  When  an  alien  becomes 
a  citizen,  he  takes  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 

government.    When  one  becomes  a  member  of  a 
Vol.  IV.  8 


58  Church  of  God. 

literary,  a  mechanical,  a  benevolent,  or  any  other 
association,  he  accedes  to  its  constitution  and 
rules.  These  are  their  professions  respectively. 
They  may  profess  falsely :  But  that  is  nothing  to 
the  society,  so  long  as  the  falsehood  is  locked  up 
within  their  own  breasts :  They  are  accounted, 
and  rightly  accounted,  "  good  men  and  true,"  till 
they  forfeit  their  reputation  and  their  immunities 
by  some  criminal  deed.  Who  doubts  that  indi- 
viduals unfaithful  in  heart  to  their  engagements, 
are  scattered  through  all  these  combinations? 
Yet  who  would  deem  it  better  than  madness  to 
decide  on  their  external  relations  without  a  war- 
rant from  external  acts  ?  What  horrible  confusion 
would  follow  a  departure  from  this  maxim?  No- 
thing can  be  true  which  contradicts  any  of  the 
great  analogies  of  God's  works;  nor  can  his 
church  be  established  by  the  operation  of  a  prin- 
ciple which,  in  every  other  case,  would  destroy  all 
confidence  and  intercourse  among  men. 

A  profession,  then,  of  faith  in  Christ,  and  of 
obedience  to  him,  not  discredited  by  other  traits 
of  character,  entitles  an  adult  to  the  privileges  of 
his  church.  And  this  is  the  first  way  of  securing 
a  succession  of  the  covenanted  seed,  and  of  hand- 
ing down  their  blessings  to  the  end  of  time. 

But  the  second  and  principal  channel  of  convey- 
ance is  hereditary  descent.  The  relations  and  bene- 
fits of  the  covenant  are  the  birthright  of  every 


No.  III. — Transmission.  59 

child  born  of  parents  who  are  themselves  of  "  the 
seed."  "  I  will  establish,"  says  God,  "  my  cove- 
nant between  me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee, 
in  their  generations,  for  an  everlasting  covenant." 
The  substance  of  which,  to  repeat  a  preceding 
proposition,  manifestly  is,  that  as  soon  as  a  new 
individual  is  generated  from  this  seed,  he  is  within 
the  covenant,  and,  according  to  its  tenour,  God  is 
his  God.  This  is  a  characteristic  of  every  public 
covenant  which  God  has  made  with  man.  Take, 
for  example,  the  covenants  with  Adam  and  with 
Noah.  Every  human  creature  comes  into  being 
under  the  full  operation  of  both  these  covenants. 
In  virtue  of  the  one,  he  is  an  "  heir  of  wrath  ;" 
and  in  virtue  of  the  other,  an  heir  of  promise  to 
the  whole  extent  of  the  covenant-mercy.  He  has 
the  faithfulness  of  God  pledged  to  him,  as  one  of 
Noah's  covenanted  seed,  that  the  world  shall  not 
be  drowned  by  a  second  deluge ;  nor  visited  by 
another  calamity  to  exterminate  his  race 

Now,  what  imaginable  reason  can  be  assigned, 
why,  in  the  covenant  with  his  visible  church,  the 
uniform  and  consistent  God  should  depart  from 
his  known  rule  of  dispensation,  and  violate  all  the 
natural  and  moral  analogies  of  his  works  and  his 
government?  It  cannot  be.  There  is  no  such 
violation ;  there  is  no  such  departure.  Nor  is  it 
so  much  as  pretended  to  have  happened  from 
Abraham  till  John  the  Baptist,  or  perhaps  the  day 


60  Church  of  God. 

of  Pentecost.  But  what  was  in  the  ministry  of 
the  Baptist?  What  in  the  ministry  of  Jesus 
Christ  ?  What  in  the  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
at  Pentecost,  to  destroy  a  radical  principle  of  that 
very  church  which  John,  and  Jesus,  and  the  Spirit 
of  Jesus,  were  sent  to  bless  and  perfect?  The 
notion  is  wild.  And  if,  as  has  been  already  de- 
monstrated, the  covenant  with  Abraham  and  his 
seed  was  a  covenant  with  the  visible  church — if 
this  covenant  has  never  been  abrogated — if  its  re- 
lations and  privileges,  with  an  exception  in  favour 
of  adults  who  desired  to  come  in  on  the  profession 
of  their  faith,  were  to  be  propagated  in  the  line  of 
natural  generation,  then,  it  follows,  that  the  infant 
seed  of  persons  who  are  under  this  covenant,  are 
themselves  parties  to  it ;  are  themselves  members 
of  the  church;  and  whatever  privileges  that  infant 
seed  had,  at  any  given  period  in  the  history  of  the 
church,  it  must  retain  so  long  as  the  covenant  is  in 
force.  But  the  covenant  is  in  force  at  this  moment ; 
therefore,  at  this  moment,  the  covenant  privileges 
of  the  infant  seed  are  in  force.  Visible  member- 
ship is  one  of  those  privileges ;  therefore  the  in- 
fant seed  of  church  members  are  also  members 
of  the  church. 

However  men  may  corrupt  and  have  corrupted 
the  ordinance  of  God,  so  as  to  reject  the  visible 
means  which  he  has  appointed  for  perpetuating 
his  church,  yet  as  they  cannot  overset  his  govern- 


No.  III. — Transmission.  61 

ment,  they  are  compelled  to  see  the  principle  here 
contended  for,  operating,  with  irresistible  force, 
every  hour  before  their  eyes.  For  whether  they 
will,  or  whether  they  will  not,  the  fact  is,  that  the 
church  of  God,  with  an  exception  before  mention- 
ed, ever  has  been,  and  is  now,  propagated  by 
hereditary  descent.  There  is  not,  perhaps,  in  any 
nation  under  heaven  that  has  been  once  christian- 
ized, and  has  not  sinned  away  the  gospel,  a  single 
Christian  who  has  not  received  his  privileges  as 
an  inheritance  from  his  fathers.  Let  us  then  be- 
ware how,  in  opposing  infant  church  membership, 
we  fight  against  a  principle  which  is  wrought  into 
the  essence  of  all  God's  constitutions  respecting 


«v^*£»*<^ 


63 


CHURCH  OF  GOD. 


No.  IV. 
Initiating  Seal. 


On  the  "  sign  of  circumcision"  which  God  an- 
nexed to  his  covenant  with  Abraham,  as  "  a  seal 
of  the  righteousness  of  faith,"  some  remarks  have 
already  been  made.  In  its  immediate  reference 
to  the  Patriarch's  seed,  it  certified  that  they  be- 
longed to  the  church  of  God,  and  were  entitled 
to  all  the  privileges  which  she  derived  immediate- 
ly from  the  covenant  with  their  great  progenitor. 
A  right  to  this  seal,  was  the  birthright  of  every 
Hebrew ;  and  it  was  accordingly  applied  to  him 
when  he  was  eight  days  old.  That  this  right  was 
not  peculiar  to  the  literal,  but  was  common  to 
the  covenanted,  seed,  is  clear  from  the  case  of 
proselytes,  who  having  cleaved  to  the  God  of 
Abraham,  were  themselves  circumcised,  and  im- 
parted to  their  children  all  the  prerogatives  of  a 
native  Hebrew. 

On  the  supposition,  then,  that  circumcision  had 


64  Church  of  God. 

not  been  laid  aside,  as  the  covenant,  of  which  it 
was  the  seal,  has  not,  it  would  be  at  this  hour 
the  duty  of  professing  parents  to  circumcise  their 
infant  sons;  that  is,  to  have  an  interest  in  God's 
covenant  certified  to  their  seed,  by  applying  the 
seal  of  it  to  their  male  infants.  Circumcision, 
however,  having  been  discontinued,  the  question 
is,  whether  the  seal  which  it  conveyed  has  been 
discontinued  with  it  ?  If  so,  then  these  two  con- 
sequences follow. 

First,  That  there  is  no  longer  any  initiatory 
seal  for  adults,  any  more  than  for  infants;  because 
an  abolished  seal  can  no  more  be  applied  to  a 
man  than  to  a  babe  ;  and  thence, 

Secondly,  That  the  church  of  God  is  under  the 
operation  of  an  unsealed  covenant ;  that  is,  that 
God  has  withdrawn  the  sensible  pledge  of  his  co- 
venant relation  to  her.  If  it  be  said  that  Baptism 
is  appointed  to  be  the  initiatory  seal  under  the 
New  Testament  dispensation,  and  is  directed  to 
be  applied  to  believing  adults,  the  plea  is  true ; 
but  it  concedes  much  more  than  suits  the  purpose 
of  many  who  urge  it. 

(1.)  As  a  seal  must  certify  something;  as  no 
seal  was  ever  ordained  by  God  but  as  the  seal  of 
his  covenant ;  and  as  no  wise  man  will  pretend 
that  every  lawfully  baptized  adult,  is  undoubtedly 
within  the  covenant  of  grace,  it  concedes  that  God 
has  a  visible  church  in  sealed  covenant  with  himself, 


No.  IV. — Initiating  Seal.  65 

distinct  from  that  church  which  is  composed  of 
the  elect  only. 

(2.)  As  he  has  never  made  a  new  visible  church  ; 
nor  drawn  back  from  his  old  engagements,  this 
plea  concedes,  that  the  church  now  in  existence 
is  the  very  church  organized  by  the  Abrahamic 
covenant ;  and  that  covenant  the  very  one  which 
is  sealed  to  her  by  baptism.     Then, 

(3.)  That  baptism  has  come  in  the  place  of 
circumcision ;  and  as  adults  are  ordered  to  be 
baptized,  without  a  syllable  of  the  exclusion  of 
infants,  the  application  of  circumcision  must  fur- 
nish the  rule  for  that  of  baptism.  And  conse- 
quently, this  same  plea  which  is  designed  to  pre- 
clude infant  baptism,  turns  out  to  be  a  demonstra- 
tion of  its  divine  right.  Thus  the  point  before  us 
would  be  completely  settled.  But  to  wave  this  ad- 
vantage, and  to  put  the  subject  in  another  light, 
let  us  distinguish,  in  this  matter  of  circumcision, 
between  the  substance  and  form.  The  substance 
of  the  ordinance,  that  which  properly  constituted 
the  seal,  was  the  certification  to  the  person  seal- 
ed, of  his  interest  in  God's  covenant.  The  rite 
of  circumcision  was  no  more  than  the  form  in 
which  the  seal  was  applied.  These  two  things 
must  not  be  confounded.  For,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  rite  may  be,  and  was,  and  is  yet,  performed 
without  any  sealing  whatever.     The  sons  of  Ish- 

mael  were  circumcised,  but  they  belonged  not  to 
Vol.  IV.  9 


66  Church  of  God. 

the  covenanted  seed,  and  therefore  circumcision 
sealed  nothing  to  them.  The  Jews  are  circumci- 
sed still,  but  being  cut  off  from  the  olive-tree,  be- 
ing cast  out  of  the  church  of  God,  and  suspended 
from  the  privileges  of  the  covenanted  seed,  their 
circumcision  is  nothing.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
seal  had  been  the  same,  although  administered  by 
a  different  rite.  The  amputation  of  a  toe,  the  per- 
foration of  an  ear,  the  sprinkling  of  blood,  or  the 
anointing  with  oil,  would  have  answered  the  pur- 
pose as  well  as  circumcision.  The  essence  of  the 
seal  lying  not  in  the  rite,  but  in  the  divine  sanction 
which  is  given  by  that  rite  to  claims  on  God's  co- 
venant. Now  as  it  is  self-evident,  that  this  sanc- 
tion may  be  conveyed  under  any  form  which  he 
shall  please  to  prescribe,  it  is  a  gross  errour  in 
reasoning  to  conclude,  that  because  the  ancient 
form  is  laid  aside,  therefore  the  seal  and  all  things 
certified  by  it  are  laid  aside  too.  It  would  be 
quite  as  accurate  to  infer,  that  because  the  form 
of  church  polity  is  altered,  therefore  the  church 
no  longer  exists.  If  it  be  objected,  that  "  how- 
ever distinguishable  the  seal  and  the  sealing  rite 
be  from  each  other  in  theory,  they  are  insepara- 
ble in  fact ;  as  the  former  cannot  be  applied  to  us 
but  through  the  medium  of  the  latter  ,•  and  there- 
fore if  this  be  abolished,  the  other  is  to  us  as  if  it 
did  not  exist;"  I -reply,  that  the  objection  con- 
cludes equally  against  the  existence  of  a  church 


No.  IV. — Initiating  Seal  67 

upon  earth ;  for  it  must  appear  in  some  visible 
form,  or  else,  to  us,  it  is  no  church  :  and  the  argu- 
ment is  still  good,  that  if  the  abolition  of  a  partic- 
ular form  of  sealing  God's  covenant,  involves  the 
abolition  of  the  seal  itself,  then  the  abolition  of  a 
particular  form  of  his  church,  involves  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  church  itself.  The  objection  assumes 
the  very  point  in  debate,  viz.  that  the  seal  of  the 
covenant  and  a  particular  form  of  the  sealing  rite 
are  co-existent,  and  perish  together.  Whereas  it 
is  contended,  that  the  cessation  of  the  latter  does 
by  no  means  imply  the  cessation  of  the  former;  but 
that  the  seal  may  remain  the  same,  although  the 
rite  be  changed ;  and  may  pass,  in  its  full  virtue 
and  efficacy,  through  successive  forms  of  appli- 
cation. In  truth,  it  is  a  fundamental  principle, 
that  forms  of  dispensation  do  not  affect  the  substance 
of  the  things  dispensed.  Otherwise,  the  covenant 
of  grace  has  been  changed  often.  But  iffve  forms 
of  dispensation  have  not  touched  the  substance 
of  the  covenant  of  grace ;  nor  three  forms  of  dis- 
pensation, the  substance  of  the  covenant  with 
Abraham  5  why  should  the  disuse  of  a  particular 
mode  of  sealing  this  latter,  draw  after  it  the  de- 
struction of  the  seal  itself?  and  of  all  the  relations 
and  benefits  sealed  ?  The  issue  is,  that  circum- 
cision may  be  laid  aside  without  infringing  upon 
the  covenant  to  which  it  was  appended.  It  has  been 
laid  aside,  and  the  question  is,  What  has  been 


68  Church  of  God. 

substituted  in  its  place  ?  As  none  of  the  parties 
to  this  controversy  pretend  that  it  has  been  suc- 
ceeded by  any  other  ordinance  than  baptism,  the 
only  alternative  is,  either  that  nothing  at  all  has 
been  substituted  for  it,  or  else  that  the  substitute 
is  baptism. 

If  nothing — then  while  the  covenant  is  in  force, 
and  a  covenant  which  must  be  sealed  too,  there 
is  no  method  of  applying  the  seal. 

If  nothing — then  a  privilege  has  been  taken 
away  from  the  church,  and  she  has  received  no 
compensation ;  contrary  to  the  whole  tenour  of 
God's  dealing  with  her,  and  to  the  positive  decla- 
rations of  his  word. 

If  nothing — then  the  apostle  Peter  led  his  hear- 
ers astray,  in  assuring  them  that  the  "  promise 
was  to  them  and  their  children,"  which,  as  Jews, 
they  could  not  understand  of  any  other  promise 
than  that  made  to  Abraham  ;  nor  in  any  other 
sense,  than  as  asserting  the  joint  interest  of  their 
infants,  with  themselves,  in  the  covenant  of  God, 
and,  consequently,  their  right  to  the  seal  of  that 
interest.  One  of  the  most  stubborn  and  rational 
prejudices  of  the  Jews  against  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation, was  the  fear  of  losing  the  privileges  to 
which,  as  Abraham's  seed,  they  had  a  covenant 
claim;  and  which  they,  with  better  excuse  than 
Christians  now,  supposed  to  be  inseparable  from 
the  law  of  Moses.     "  You  mistake  the  matter," 


No.  IV. — Initiating  Seal.  69 


\5 


cries  Peter,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  "  there  is  no- 
thing in  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  nor  the  new 
economy  which  he  has  introduced,  to  destroy  or 
abridge  the  mercies  held  out  and  secured  by  the 
covenant  with  Abraham.  The  Saviour  is,  him- 
self, the  chief  blessing  of  that  covenant.  The 
evangelical  dispensation  displays  its  provisions 
in  clearer  light,  and  greater  extent.  The  pro- 
mise subsists  in  unabated  virtue,  and  with  in- 
creased glory  ;  it  is,  at  this  moment,  as  much 
as  at  any  moment  past,  to  you  and  to  your  children  ; 
but  it  is  also  to  all  them  that  are  afar  off,  even  as 
many  as  the  Lord  your  God  shall  call"  How  could 
the  words  of  Peter  be  interpreted  by  a  Jew  ?  In 
no  other  way  than  this,  that  neither  the  covenant 
of  Abraham,  nor  the  seal  of  that  covenant,  nor 
the  interest  of  his  infant  seed  in  it  was  abrogated, 
or  to  be  abrogated,  by  the  Christian  dispensation. 
How  could  they  be  interpreted  by  a  Gentile  ?  In 
no  other  way  than  this,  that  persons  who  "  were 
afar  off,"  (the  very  phrase  by  which  Paul  describes 
the  Gentiles,)  being  called  by  the  gospel,  should 
come  into  the  full  possession  of  all  the  benefits 
which  are  contained  in  the  covenant  with  Abraham; 
that  is,  should  enjoy,  equally  with  the  Jew,  what- 
ever, according  to  the  nature  of  that  covenant,  is 
comprehended  in  the  declaration,  I  will  be  thy  God, 
and  the  God  of  thy  seed;  and  equally  with  the  Jew, 
the  pledge  and  seal  of  this  his  privilege.     The 


70  Church  of  God. 

Apostle  speaks  of  a  promise  well-known  and  high- 
ly prized.  "  The  promise,"  Avithout  any  expla- 
nation. "  What  promise  ?"  inquires  the  Gentile. 
Ask  your  brother,  the  Jew,  rejoins  the  Apostle ; 
he  understands  me  thoroughly.  It  is  the  promise 
made  to  his  father,  Abraham ;  that  in  his  seed  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  shall  be  blessed.  "  True," 
you  will  interrupt,  "  this  is  the  Apostle's  mean- 
ing, and  it  says  not  a  syllable  of  circumcision,  nor 
of  its  relation  to  baptism  ;  nor  of  infant  church 
membership."  Yes,  but  is  a  promise  in  Abra- 
ham's covenant  :  it  depends  upon  the  immuta- 
bility of  that  covenant.  For  no  engagement 
whatever,  can  survive  the  covenant  which  gives  it 
birth  and  validity.  And  this  very  promise,  the 
Holy  Ghost  being  judge,  was  to  be  so  fulfilled, 
that  the  blessing  of  Abraham  might  come  upon 
the  Gentiles;  which  must  mean  that  they  and 
their  seed  should  be  admitted  to  the  privileges 
granted  to  Abraham  and  his  seed:  so  that  the 
children  of  professing  Christians,  not  less  than 
themselves,  should  be  within  the  covenant,  and 
entitled  to  its  seal.  Thus  the  Jews  evidently  un- 
derstood the  Apostle ;  for  among  all  their  objec- 
tions to  the  Christian  system,  they  never  objected 
the  exclusion  of  their  infant  seed  from  the  church  of 
God.  If,  therefore,  nothing  has  come  in  the  place 
of  circumcision,  the  Apostle  acted  disingenuously 
with  his  Jewish  hearers ;  and  quieted  their  appre- 


No.  IV. — Initiating  Seal. 


71 


hension  by  a  fraud  upon  their  consciences.  The 
fraud  extended  to  the  Gentile  converts ;  for  it  re- 
ferred them  to  the  Jewish  standard  of  interpreta- 
tion ;  and  every  one  of  the  inspired  penmen  of 
the  New  Testament  is  accessary  to  its  influence, 
as  there  is  not  a  sentence  in  all  their  writings  to 
correct  the  errour;  and  the  deception  will  not 
end  even  with  them — *******  t 

But  if  these  things  cannot  be  maintained — If 
there  is  no  such  mockery  as  a  seal  without  a  mode 
of  sealing,  and  the  primitive  form  of  circumcision 
is  abolished — If  God  has  not  stripped  his  church 
of  a  privilege,  without  giving  her  an  equivalent — 
If  the  holy  Apostle  did  not  abuse  the  understand- 
ing of  his  hearers,  nor  sport  with  their  faith  in  his 
veracity — then  is  baptism  the  substitute  for  cir- 
cumcision. 

But  as  this  conclusion  may  be  thought  too 
strong  for  the  general  argument  preceding  it,  let 
us  submit  it  to  a  more  direct  proof,  by  inquiring 
into  the  scriptural  account  of  both  circumcision 
and  baptism.  And,  First,  let  us  .see  how  this  ac- 
count stands  with  regard  to  them  separately.  It 
will  be  seen  in  the  following  contrast. 


CIRCUMCISION, 

1.  Was  an  initiatory  rite, 
by  which  the  circumcised 
were  owned  as  of  the  cove- 
nanted seed,  and  of  the  peo- 
ple of  God. 


BAPTISM, 
1.  Is  an  initiatory  rite,  by 
which  the  baptized  are  num- 
bered among  the  disciples  of 
Christ,  and  the  members  of 
the  church  of  God. 


72 


Church  of  God. 


2.  Was  a  seal  of  the  right- 
eousness of  faith.  Rom.  iv. 
11.  i.  e.  of  the  Justification  of 
a  sinner  through  the  right- 
eousness of  the  surety  em- 
braced by  faith. 


3.  Was  an  emblem  and  a 
means  of  internal  sanctity. 
The  Lord  thy  God  ivill  circum- 
cise thine  heart,  and  the  heart 
of  thy  seed,  to  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thine  heart, 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  that 
thou  mayest  live.  Deut.  xxx. 
6.     See  also  ch.  x.  16. 


2.  The  person  is  baptized 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ 
for  the  remission  of  sins, 
(Act.  ii.  38.)  which  is 
through  faith  in  his  blood  ; 
so  that  God  is  just  and  the 
justifier  of  him  that  believeth 
in  Jesus. 

3.  Is  a  sign  and  means  of 
our  sanctification  in  virtue 
of  our  communion  with 
Christ. — Buried  ivith  him  by 
baptism  into  death  ;  that  like 
as  Christ  was  raised  up  from 
the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the 
Father,  even  so  we  also  should 
walk  in  newness  of  life.  Rom. 
vi.  4.     See  also  1  Pet.  iii.  21. 


The  parallel  is  certainly  striking  :  Circumcision 
and  baptism  do  both  put  a  mark  upon  their  sub- 
jects, as  belonging  to  that  society  which  God  hath 
set  apart  for  himself.  They  both  signify  and  seal 
that  wondrous  change  in  the  state  of  a  sinner, 
whereby,  being  justified  by  faith,  he  passes  from 
condemnation  into  acceptance  with  God ;  which 
doctrines  of  pardon  and  acceptance  are  exhibited 
in  that  society  alone,  which,  under  the  name  of 
his  church,  God  hath  consecrated  to  himself,  and 
of  which  he  hath  appointed  the  circumcised  and 
baptized  to  be  esteemed  members.  Both  repre- 
sent, and  are  means  of  obtaining,  that  real  purity 
which  is  effected  by  the  spirit  of  Christ ;  and  is 


No.  IV. — Initiating  Seal  73 

the  characteristic  of  all  those  members  of  his 
church  who  are  justified  by  faith  in  his  blood. 
Such  a  coincidence  cannot  be  casual.  It  bespeaks 
design.  And  seeing  that  circumcision  and  bap- 
tism do  thus  substantially  answer  the  same  ends, 
and  that  the  former  has  ceased,  the  only  sound 
conclusion  is,  that  it  has  been  succeeded  by  the 
latter.  Change  of  dispensation  was  a  sufficient 
reason  why  the  form  of  sealing  the  covenant  dis- 
pensed should  also  be  changed ;  and  the  points  of 
difference  between  baptism  and  circumcision,  as 
covenant  seals,  are  only  such  as  were  demanded 
by  the  nature  of  the  change :  the  former  being 
much  better  adapted  to  a  more  extensive  and 
spiritual  dispensation  than  the  latter.  And  this  is 
an  additional  consideration  to  show  that  the  one 
has  been  substituted  in  the  room  of  the  other. 

Let  us  proceed  in  our  inquiry  by  examining, 
Secondly,  into  the  scriptural  manner  of  represent- 
ing circumcision  and  baptism  when  they  are  spo- 
ken of  together  ;  or  when  baptism  is  mentioned  in 
connexion  with  the  covenant  of  which  circumci- 
sion was  the  seal. — Take  two  examples. 

1.  The  Apostle  Peter,  in  his  famous  address  to 
which  there  has  already  been  frequent  reference, 
assigns  the  perpetuity  of  Abraham's  covenant,  and 
the  validity  of  its  promise,  as  a  reason  why  his 
Jewish  hearers  should  be  baptized.  Repent,  says 
he,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you,  in  the  name  of 


74  Church  of  God. 

Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall 
receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  for  the  promise 
is  unto  you  and  to  your  children.  But  how  could 
this  promise,  being  still  assured  to  them  and  to 
their  children,  be  a  reason  for  their  baptism  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ,  unless  baptism  were  a  seal 
of  that  same  promise  as  exhibited  in  the  new  eco- 
nomy ?  "  Your  circumcision  sealed  to  you,"  says 
the  Apostle,  "  your  interest  in  the  covenant  with 
Abraham,  as  it  was  exhibited  under  the  law: 
baptism  seals  your  interest  in  that  covenant,  as 
it  is  exhibited  in  perfection  under  the  Gospel.  If 
you  refuse  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  the  initiating  or- 
dinance of  his  dispensation,  you  refuse  the  better 
things  which  God  has  provided  for  you.  If  you 
yield  yourselves  up  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  you 
will  have  all  that  the  promise  contains  in  its  ap- 
plication to  this  better  state  of  things,  sealed  unto 
you ;  therefore,  repent  and  be  baptized."  In 
this  view,  the  argument  is  conclusive.  In  any 
other,  it  is  of  no  force  at  all.  What  persuasion  to 
baptism  could  there  be  in  the  consideration  that 
the  promise  was  to  them  and  their  children,  if 
baptism  had  no  relation  to  the  promise  ?  and 
what  relation  could  it  have  unless  as  a  seal,  occu- 
pying the  same  place  with  regard  to  the  promise 
under  the  new  dispensation,  which  was  occupied 
by  circumcision  under  the  old  ?  Admitting  this, 
every  thing  is  clear.     Two  initiatory  rites  of  the 


No.  IV. — Initiating  Seal.  75 


«D 


same  general  import,  cannot  exist  together.  The 
dispensation  by  Christ  Jesus  takes  place  of  the 
dispensation  by  Abraham,  with  all  the  additions 
by  Moses ;  the  form  of  sealing  the  covenant  under 
this,  takes  place  of  the  form  of  sealing  it  under 
those.  The  greater  contains  all  that  was  con- 
tained in  the  less,  and  supersedes  it.  Baptism 
supplants  circumcision. 

2.  In  the  epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Colossians,  is 
the  following  passage.  "In  whom"  viz.  Christ, 
"  also  ye  are  circumcised  with  the  circumcision  made 
without  hands,  in  putting  off  the  body  of  the  sins  of 
the  flesh,  by  the  circumcision  of  Christ  ;  buried 
with  him  in  baptism,  wherein  also  ye  are  risen  with 
him,  through  the  faith  of  the  operation  of  God,  who 
hath  raised  him  from  the  dead"     Chap.  ii.  11,  12. 

This  is  a  very  extensive  proposition,  made  up 
of  a  number  of  subordinate  ones  which  it  is 
necessary  distinctly  to  weigh. 

1st.  Both  circumcision  and  baptism  are  to  be 
viewed  as  signs  of  spiritual  mercies.  It  is  for  this 
reason  alone,  that  they  are  or  can  be  employed 
as  terms  to  convey  the  idea  of  such  mercies. 

2d.  Circumcision  was  a  sign  of  regeneration, 
and  of  communion  with  Christ,  as  the  fountain 
of  spiritual  life.  The  apostle  is  treating  of  a  be- 
liever's completeness  in  Christ — of  circumcision  in 
Christ.  That  his  meaning  might  not  be  mistaken, 
he  explains  himself  of  the  inward  grace,  calling  it, 


76  Church  of  God. 

"  the  circumcision  made  without  hands"  and  to  cut 
off  all  misconception,  he  explains  his  explanation, 
declaring  this  "  circumcision  without  hands,"  to 
be,  the  putting  off  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh,  by 
the  circumcision  of  Christ. 

3d.  Baptism,  too,  is  a  sign  of  regeneration,  and 
of  communion  with  Christ,  as  the  fountain  of  spi- 
ritual life. 

In  baptism,  saith  Paul,  ye  are  "buried  with 
Christ"  "  ye  are  risen  ivith  him"  through  a  di- 
vine faith,  "  the  faith  of  the  operation  of  God." — 
Whereas  ye  were  "  dead  in  sins,  and  the  uncir- 
cumcision  of  your  flesh  "  (uncircumcision  put  for  the 
state  of  irregeneracy,)  God  hath  quickened  you  to- 
gether with  Christ. 

Collect  now  the  result.  A  believer's  sanctifl- 
cation,  in  virtue  of  union  with  Christ,  Paul  de- 
clares to  be  represented  by  both  circumcision  and 
baptism ;  for  he  expresses  his  doctrine  by  these 
terms  indifferently;  and  annexes  to  them  both, 
the  same  spiritual  signification.  He  has,  there- 
fore, identified  the  two  ordinances :  and  thus,  by 
demonstrating  that  they  have  one  and  the  same 
use  and  meaning,  he  has  exhibited  to  our  view 
.the  very  same  seal  of  God's  covenant,  under  the 
forms  of  circumcision  and  baptism  respectively. 
But  as  the  same  thing  cannot  subsist  in  different 
forms  at  the  same  time :  and  as  the  first  form,  viz. 
circumcision,  is  laid  aside;  it  follows,  that  the 


No.  IV. — Initiating  Seal  11 

seal  of  God's  covenant  is  perpetuated  under  the 
second  form,  viz.  baptism ;  and  that  it  signifies 
and  seals  in  a  manner  suited  to  the  evangelical 
dispensation,  whatever  was  previously  signified 
and  sealed  by  the  rite  of  circumcision. 

If  we  again  inspect  the  Apostle's  proposition, 
we  shall  find,  that  he  directs  us  to  this  conclusion, 
as  well  by  the  structure  of  his  phraseology,  as  by 
the  force  of  his  argument.  For,  on  the  one  hand, 
by  the  indiscriminate  use  of  the  terms  circumci- 
sion and  baptism,  he  appears  to  assume,  as  an  in- 
disputable fact,  the  substitution  of  the  latter  in 
place  of  the  former ;  nor  is  it  easy  to  conceive 
why  he  should  discourse  in  this  allusive  manner, 
if  the  exchange  were  not  perfectly  understood 
among  Christians:  and,  on  the  other  hand,  his 
language  is  so  framed,  as  to  assert  that  ex- 
change. "  Circumcised — in  putting  off  the  body 
of  the  sins  of  the  flesh,  by  the  circumcision  of 
Christ ;  buried  with  him  in  baptism."  What  can 
the  apostle  intend,  by  the  "  circumcision  of  Christ  ?" 
Doubtless,  not  the  literal  rite,  for  this  would  de- 
stroy at  once  the  whole  of  his  reasoning  on  the 
article  of  sanctification,  in  the  same  way  as  it  is 
destroyed  by  those  who  interpret  the  phrase, 
"  buried  with  him  in  baptism,"  of  submersion  of 
the  body  in  the  act  of  baptising.  The  apostle 
cannot  so  trifle.  By  the  "  circumcision  of  Christ," 
he  means  that  righteousness  of  faith,  that  mortifi- 


78  Church  of  God. 

cation  of  sin,  that  quickening  influence,  which 
flow  from  Christ,  and  were  signified  by  circumci- 
sion. But  that  same  righteousness  of  faith,  and 
mortification  of  sin,  and  quickening  influence,  are 
also  signified  by  baptism.  But  circumcision  and 
baptism  are  external  signs,  which  the  apostle  re- 
cognizes by  specifying  the  things  signified.  In 
his  transition  from  the  one  to  the  other,  that  is, 
from  circumcision  to  baptism,  as  signifying,  in 
their  respective  places,  the  very  same  blessings, 
he  points  to  the  transition  which  the  church  of 
God  has  made  in  fact,  from  the  use  of  the  former 
to  the  use  of  the  latter.  "  With  regard  to  the 
things  signified,"  saith  he,  "  there  is  no  difference. 
The  circumcision  of  Christ,  and  burial  with  him 
in  baptism,  are  expressions  of  similar  import; 
both  declaring  a  believer's  communion  with  him 
in  his  covenant  mercies.  With  regard  to  the  out- 
ward sign,  fellowship  with  Christ  in  his  death  and 
resurrection,  is  represented  in  baptism,  as  putting 
off  the  body  of  "  the  sins  of  the  flesh,"  was  for- 
merly represented  in  circumcision."  If  this  be 
just,  the  inference  is  plain.  Baptism  is  the  Chris- 
tian circumcision;  the  sign  of  baptism  is  the 
Christian  form  of  sealing  God's  covenant,  and,  as 
such,  has  taken  place  of  circumcision. 

In  confirmation  of  what  is  here  advanced,  let 
us  look,  for  a  moment,  at  the  Apostle's  account  of 
Abraham's  circumcision;  Rom.  iv.  11,  &c.     He 


No.  IV. — Initiating  Seal.  79 

received  the  sign  of  circumcision,  a  seal  of  the  right- 
eousness of  the  faith  which  he  had,  yet  being  uncir- 
cumcised ;  that  he  might  be  the  father  of  all  them 
that  believe,  though  they  be  not  circumcised ;  that 
righteousness  might  be  imputed  unto  them  also.  And 
the  father  of  circumcision  to  them  who  are  not  of  the 
circumcision  only,  but  who  also  walk  in  the  steps  of 
that  faith  of  our  father  Abraham,  ivhich  he  had,  being 
yet  uncircumcised. 

Two  great  prerogatives  are  here  ascribed  to 
Abraham : 

1.  That  he  should  transmit,  in  the  line  of  the 
covenanted  seed,  the  righteousness  of  faith  to  all 
generations  and  nations,  so  as  to  be,  in  a  sense 
which  belonged,  and  could  belong,  to  no  other 
man,  the  Father  of  all  them  that  believe. 

2.  That  with  the  righteousness  of  faitn,  he 
should  transmit  the  seal  of  God's  covenant,  by  the 
intervention  of  which  it  was  to  be  perpetuated  in 
the  world,  and  actually  imputed  to  all  believers. 
For  he  was  not  only  the  father  of  all  them  that 
believe,  but  "  the  father  of  circumcision"  to  them. 

This  cannot  mean  the  things  signified  by  cir- 
cumcision; for  the  apostle  includes  them  in  the 
first  prerogative:  and  such  an  interpretation  would 
convert  into  mere  tautology,  two  propositions 
which  are  strongly  distinguished  from  each  other 
in  the  text.  Circumcision,  says  the  apostle,  was 
a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the  faith  which  Abra 


80  Church  of  God. 

ham  had  before  he  was  circumcised :  and  he  is 
the  father  of  this  circumcision  to  all  them  who 
walk  in  the  steps  of  his  faith ;  that  is,  he  transmits 
the  sign  and  seal  along  with  the  thing  signified ; 
conveying  the  evidence  of  God's  covenant,  as  far 
and  as  wide  as  he  conveys  the  blessing  ministered 
by  it,  so  that  in  whatever  sense  he  is  the  father 
of  them  that  believe,  in  the  same  sense  is  he  the 
father  to  them  of  the  seal  of  that  righteousness 
which  they  embrace  by  faith:  and  further,  the 
benefits  conferred  through  the  medium  of  Abra- 
ham's covenant,  are  asserted  to  be  contemporary 
with  the  seal;  both  descending  together  from 
him  to  the  last  of  the  covenanted  seed.  The 
Apostle  himself  applies  the  principle,  in  the  most 
positive  terms,  to  the  old  and  the  new  dispensa- 
tion. 

To  the  old  dispensation — "  The  father  of  cir- 
cumcision to  them  who  are  not  of  the  circumcision 
only,"  evidently  those  who,  being  his  descendants, 
or  incorporated  with  them,  were  literally  circum- 
cised. They  inherited  the  seal  from  their  father 
Abraham.  This  is  not  questioned.  But  the 
Apostle  extends  the  principle. 

To  the  new  dispensation — The  "  father  of  cir- 
cumcision to  them  also  who  walk  in  the  steps  of 
his  faith."  In  what  sense  is  Abraham  the  "  father 
of  circumcision,"  as  the  Apostle  maintains,  to 
them  who  never  were  literally  circumcised,  and 


No.  IV. — Initiating  Seal  81 

whom  he  expressly  distinguishes  from  the  circum- 
cision ?  Manifestly  in  this  sense,  that  they,  being 
accounted  of  Abraham's  seed,  by  their  admission 
into  the  church  of  God,  receive  along  with  it,  by 
inheritance  from  the  patriarch,  the  seal  of  that 
covenant  in  which  they  are  become  interested. 
But  circumcision  is  abolished  long  ago :  yet  Abra- 
ham is  the  father  of  circumcision  to  them  at  this 
hour.  There  is  no  avoiding  a  direct  contradic- 
tion, but  upon  the  principle,  that  though  the  out- 
ward rite  of  circumcision  be  discontinued,  yet  the 
substance  of  the  ordinance,  the  seal  of  the  cove- 
nant abides ;  is  applied  under  another  form,  and 
is  as  really  inherited  by  the  people  of  God 
from  their  father  Abraham  in  that  form,  as  it  was 
inherited  by  them  of  old  in  the  form  of  circum- 
cision. But  now,  if  this  seal  does  not  subsist  in 
the  ordinance  of  baptism,  it  has  no  existence  at 
all ;  and  there  is  no  possible  sense  in  which  Abra- 
ham is  to  us  the  father  of  circumcision.  There- 
fore, baptism  has  succeeded  to  circumcision. 

This  reasoning  draws  after  it,  infallibly,  the 
church  membership  of  infants,  and  their  right  to 
baptism.  For  as  there  is  no  distinction  between 
the  mode  in  which  Abraham  has  handed  down  the 
sealed  privileges  of  God's  covenant  to  those  who 
were,  and  those  who  were  not,  of  the  circumci- 
sion ;  and  as  they  were  made  over  to  the  former, 

and  their  infant  seed,  they  must  also  be  made 
Vol.  IV.  11 


82  Church  of  God. 

over  to  the  latter  and  their  infant  seed.  It  is  no 
objection  to  the  foregoing  argument,  that  baptism 
is  administered  to  female  infants,  whereas  only 
males  were  circumcised  :  because  the  extension  of 
a  privilege  can  never  be  pleaded  as  a  proof  of  its 
abrogation  ;  and  the  New  Testament  itself  has  po- 
sitively annulled,  in  spiritual  things,  all  pre-emi- 
nence and  inferiority  arising  from  condition  or 
sex. 

The  only  difficulty  of  any  importance,  under 
which  the  doctrine  of  these  pages  can  labour,  is 
the  application  of  the  seal  of  the  righteousness  of 
faith  to  multitudes  who  never  had  and  never  will 
have  that  righteousness  ;  consequently,  that  the 
seal  of  God's  covenant,  who  is  the  God  of  truth, 
is,  by  his  own  appointment,  very  often  affixed  to 
a  lie. 

The  difficulty  is  precisely  the  same  in  refer- 
ence to  circumcision  as  to  baptism.  The  form- 
er was  undoubtedly  "  a  seal  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  faith;"  and  as  undoubtedly  was  often 
applied  to  multitudes  who  never  had  that  right- 
eousness. Did  the  God  of  truth,  therefore,  cer- 
tify a  lie?  Methinks  so  blasphemous  a  deduc- 
tion, which  is  equally  valid  against  his  acknow- 
ledged institution  of  infant  circumcision,  as  against 
his  disputed  institution  of  infant  baptism,  should 
make  sober  men,  who  cannot  escape  from  it, 
suspect  the  soundness  of  their  views.    It  is,  more- 


No.  IV. — Initiating  Seal.  83 

over,  the  same  difficulty  which  occurs  in  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Lord's  supper,  and  in  the  baptism 
of  adults ;  unless  we  can  be  assured  that  all  the 
recipients  are  true  converts.  But,  indeed,  the  diffi- 
culty itself  is  created  by  erroneous  notions  of  the 
nature  of  God's  church;  by  confounding  visible 
members  with  his  elect — and  his  covenant  to  the 
church,  with  his  covenant  of  grace  in  Christ  Jesus. 
A  proper  application  of  this  distinction  will  re- 
move it,  and  demonstrate  that  the  seal  of  God's  cove- 
nant, does,  in  every  instance,  certify  absolute  truth, 
ivhether  it  be  applied  to  a  believer,  or  to  an  unbeliever  ; 
to  the  elect,  or  to  the  reprobate. 


85 


CHURCH  OF  GOD. 


No.  V. 
Infant  members. 


In  our  preceding  numbers,  we  have  given  a 
general  view  of  the  Church  of  God,  as  one  great 
visible  society  which  he  has  taken  into  peculiar 
relations  to  himself.  We  traced  its  origin,  as  an 
organized  whole,  up  to  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  of 
which  we  explained  the  nature,  and  proved  the 
perpetuity.  We  also  investigated  the  uses  of  its 
initiating  rite,  viz.  circumcision;  which,  we  as- 
signed reasons  to  show,  has  been  exchanged,  un- 
der the  evangelical  dispensation,  for  the  ordinance 
of  baptism :  and  we  touched,  in  general  terms, 
upon  the  conclusion  which  our  premises  justify, 
respecting  the  ecclesiastical  condition  and  privi- 
leges of  infants  born  of  believing  parents.  Ha- 
ving avowed  our  pursuasion,  that  they  are,  in  vir- 
tue of  their  birth,  members  of  the  church  of  God, 
and  entitled,  during  their  infancy,  to  baptism  in 
his  name,  we  shall,  in  this  number,  state  our  con- 


86  Church  of  God. 

elusion  more  fully,  and  shall  strengthen  it  with 
some  auxiliary  considerations. 

The  reader,  on  looking  back  to  No.  III.  of  this 
series,  will  find  the  following  paragraph. 

"  If,  as  has  been  already  demonstrated,  the  co- 
venant with  Abraham  and  his  seed  was  a  cove- 
nant with  the  visible  church— if  this  covenant  has 
never  been  abrogated — if  its  relations  and  privi- 
leges, with  an  exception  in  favour  of  adults  who 
desired  to  come  in  on  the  profession  of  their  faith, 
were  to  be  propagated  in  the  line  of  natural  ge- 
neration, then,  it  follows,  that  the  infant  seed  of 
persons  who  are  under  this  covenant,  are  them- 
selves parties  to  it ;  are  themselves  members  of 
the  church  ;  and  whatever  privileges  that  infant 
seed  had  at  any  given  period  in  the  history  of  the 
church,  it  must  retain  so  long  as  the  covenant  is 
in  force.  But  the  covenant  is  in  force  at  this  mo- 
ment ;  therefore,  at  this  moment,  the  covenant 
privileges  of  the  infant  seed  are  in  force.  Visible 
membership  is  one  of  those  privileges ;  therefore 
the  infant  seed  of  church  members  are  also  mem- 
bers of  the  church." 

This,  then,  is  the  ground  on  which  we  take  our 
stand  in  pleading  the  cause  of  the  children  whom 
God  has  given  us.  We  account  them  members 
of  his  church,  not  because  tradition  has  called 
them  so  ;  not  because  the  practice  of  the  church 
has  treated  them  as  such ;  but  because  he  consti- 


No.  V. — Infant  members,  87 

tuted  them  such  by  his  own  commandment  and 
covenant  which  he  has  never  revoked  until  this 
day. 

To  insist,  therefore,  that  we  shall  produce,  from 
the  New  Testament,  a  precept  directly  instituting 
the  church  membership  of  infants,  is  to  make  a 
demand  with  which  we  are  under  no  obligation 
to  comply.  Such  a  precept  was  not  necessary. 
The  relation  we  are  inquiring  into  had  been  in- 
stituted long  before  ;  it  had  subsisted  without  one 
moment's  interruption  for  more  than  nineteen 
centuries.  During  this  great  lapse  of  ages  it  had 
enlisted  on  its  side,  in  addition  to  its  divine  origi- 
nal, the  most  irrefragable  prejudices  of  antiquity, 
the  most  confirmed  national  habit,  and  the  fasti- 
dious jealousy  of  prerogative.  In  this  state  of  its 
prevalence  was  the  evangelical  dispensation  an- 
nounced. If  the  same  relation  of  infants  to  the 
church  was  to  continue  under  the  New  Testa- 
ment form,  nothing  is  more  easy  than  to  assign 
the  reason  why  it  was  not  instituted  anew.  The 
principle  was  undisputed ;  it  was  acted  upon  as  a 
principle  which  the  change  of  dispensation  did 
not  touch  ;  and  consequently,  a  new  institution 
was  superfluous.  The  silence  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment on  this  head,  is  altogether  in  favour  of 
those  who  maintain  that  the  union  of  parents  with 
the  church  of  God,  includes  their  children  also. 
But  on  the  supposition  that  this  principle  was  to 


88  Church  of  God. 

operate  no  longer  ;  that  the  common  interest  of 
children  with  their  parents  in  God's  covenant  was 
to  cease  ;  the  silence  of  the  New  Testament  is 
one  of  the  most  inexplicable  things  which  ever 
tortured  the  ingenuity  of  man.  If  there  is  any 
point  of  external  privilege  which  ought  to  have 
been  settled  with  the  most  definite  precision,  one 
would  imagine  that  this  is  the  point.  But  we  are 
taught  to  believe,  that  a  constitution  which  is  en- 
grafted upon  a  principle  that  penetrates  the  es- 
sence of  human  society  ;  which  coincides  with 
the  genius  of  every  other  divine  constitution  re- 
specting man ;  which  is  incorporated  with  his 
animal,  his  intellectual,  and  his  moral  character ; 
which  is  interwoven  with  every  ligament  and  fibre 
of  his  heart,  shall  be  torn  away  ;  and  yet  the 
statute  book  of  the  kingdom  in  which  this  severity 
originates,  shall  contain  no  warrant  for  executing 
it,  nor  a  syllable  to  soothe  the  anguish  which  it 
has  inflicted !  Is  it  thus  that  God  deals  with  his 
people  ?  Does  this  look  like  his  wonted  conde- 
scension to  their  infirmities  ?  Does  it  bear  the 
character  of  that  loving  kindness  and  tender 
mercy  which  belong  to  him  who  "  knows  their 
frame,  and  remembers  that  they  are  dust  ?" 

When  the  economy  of  Moses  was  to  be  super- 
seded by  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  prepared  the  way 
in  the  most  gradual  and  gentle  manner;  he  showed 
them  from  their  own  scriptures,  that  he  had  done 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  89 

only  what  he  had  intended  and  predicted  from  the 
beginning ;  he  set  before  their  eyes  a  comparative 
view  of  the  two  dispensations,  to  satisfy  them  that 
they  had  lost  nothing,  but  had  gained  much  by  the 
exchange.  When  they  were  "dull  of  hearing," 
he  bore  with  their  slowness  ;  when  they  were  ex- 
tremely unwilling  to  part  with  Moses,  he  stooped 
to  their  infirmities ;  and  persevered  in  his  lenity, 
till  the  destruction  of  their  city,  their  sacrifices, 
their  temple,  their  nation,  left  their  further  demur 
ring  without  the  shadow  of  an  excuse.  But  when 
he  touched  them  in  the  point  of  most  exquisite 
sensibility — when  he  passed  a  sword  through  their 
souls  by  cutting  off  their  children,  unable  to  dis 
tinguish  between  good  and  evil,  from  all  the  in- 
terest which  they  once  had  in  his  church,  the 
heavy  mandate  is  preceded  by  no  warning,  is  ac- 
companied with  no  comfort ;  is  followed  by  no- 
thing to  replace  the  privation ;  is  not  even  sup- 
ported by  a  single  reason !  The  thing  is  done  in 
the  most  summary  manner,  and  the  order  is  not 
so  much  as  entered  into  the  rule  of  faith !  The 
believing  mother  hears  that  the  "son  of  her  womb" 
is  shut  out  from  the  covenant  of  her  God,  but 
hears  not  why !  Is  this  the  ordinance  of  him  who, 
"  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  pities  them 
that  fear  him  ?"  It  cannot  be  ! 

Conceding,  then,  to  the  opposers  of  our  chil- 
dren's claim  as  members  of  the  Christian  church, 
Vol.  IV.  12 


90  Church  of  God. 

all  that  they  ask  with  regard  to  the  silence  of  the 
New  Testament,  that  very  concession  works  their 
ruin.  If  their  views  are  correct,  it  could  not  have 
been  thus  silent.  Out  of  their  own  mouths  we 
draw  their  conviction ;  and  cast  them  in  the  judg- 
ment by  the  very  evidence  which  they  offer  in 
their  vindication. 

The  case  is  now  reversed.  Instead  of  our  pro- 
ducing from  the  New  Testament  such  a  warrant 
for  the  privileges  of  our  infant  seed,  as  they  re- 
quire, we  turn  the  tables  upon  them ;  and  insist, 
that  they  shall  produce  scriptural  proof  of  God's 
having  annulled  the  constitution  under  which  we  as- 
sert  our  right.  Till  they  do  this,  our  cause  is  in- 
vincible. He  once  granted  to  his  church  the  right 
for  which  we  contend ;  and  nothing  but  his  own 
act  can  take  it  away.  We  want  to  see  the  act  of 
abrogation  ;  we  must  see  it  in  the  New  Testament ; 
for  there  it  is,  if  it  is  at  all.  Point  it  out,  and  we 
have  done.  Till  then  we  shall  rejoice  in  the  con- 
solation of  calling  upon  God  as  our  God,  and  the 
God  of  our  seed. 

2.  We  have  before  remarked,  that  the  exclusion 
of  infants  from  the  church  of  God,  contradicts  all 
the  analogies  of  his  external  dispensations  to- 
wards men.* 

A  correct  reasoner  will  require  the  highest  evi- 
dence of  which  the  case  is  susceptible,  before  he 

*  Christian  Magazine,  Vol.  I.  p.  58 — 61. 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  91 

admits  a  doctrine  involving  such  a  consequence. 
General  principles  are  the  great  landmarks  of  truth. 
They  furnish  tests  by  which  to  try  the  soundness 
of  those  endless  propositions  which  are  generated 
by  the  ceaseless  activity  of  the  human  mind.  One 
of  them,  well  understood  and  judiciously  applied, 
is  a  better  preservative  from  errour,  than  a  mil- 
lion of  those  small  arguments  by  which  multitudes 
regulate  their  opinion  and  their  conduct. 

If,  indeed,  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  children 
shall  not  be  esteemed,  during  their  infancy,  as 
members  of  the  New  Testament  church ;  and  if 
he  has  promulged  his  will  in  this  matter  by  any 
explicit  statute,  or  by  any  act  which  necessarily 
infers  such  an  appointment,  there  is  an  end  to  all 
our  difficulties  and  disquisitions.  "  Thus  saith 
Jehovah,"  discharges,  at  once,  every  human  in- 
quiry. But  seeing  that,  in  every  public  constitu- 
tion, he  always  identified  parents  with  their  chil- 
dren ;  and  that  in  every  other  department  of  his 
government  this  principle  is  conspicuous  at  the 
present  hour,  an  argument  of  the  most  imperious 
sort  thence  arises  in  favour  of  our  children's  birth- 
right as  members  of  his  church.  For  as  his  con- 
stitutions of  nature  and  of  grace  agree  with  the 
most  wonderful  harmony ;  and  as  this  agreement 
is  the  foundation  of  all  those  references  to  the  for- 
mer, by  which  the  scriptures  explain  and  illustrate 
the  latter,  it  is  "  passing  strange,"  that  he  should 


92  Church  of  God. 

introduce,  into  the  heart  of  his  church,  a  law 
which  is  at  complete  variance  with  the  whole  sys- 
tem of  his  creation  and  providence !  that  he  should 
go  out  of  his  way  to  make  an  exception,  not  for, 
but  against,  his  own  people :  refusing  to  them,  as 
members  of  his  church,  the  benefit  of  an  ordi- 
nance which  in  other  societies  erected  by  his  au- 
thority, he  freely  allows  to  mankind  at  large ;  and 
refusing  it  at  the  expense  of  resuming,  without  an 
equivalent,  the  grant  which  he  formerly  conveyed 
to  them ! 

The  case  is  still  stronger  when  we  reflect  that 
the  children  of  believing  parents  participate  in  all 
the  disasters  of  the  external  church.  If  she  be  cor- 
rupted, the  corruption  infects  them ;  if  she  be  per- 
secuted, the  persecution  smites  them ;  if  her  mer- 
cies be  sinned  away,  the  punishment  of  the  sin 
lights  on  them.  Could  they  suffer  more  upon  the 
supposition  of  their  being  really  members  ?  It 
seems,  then,  that  they  are  to  share  in  all  her  af- 
flictions, without  sharing  in  her  privileges :  that 
when  evil  overtakes  her,  they  are  to  be  treated  as 
citizens;  but  when  her  immunities  are  dispensed, 
as  aliens.  So  that  the  Lord  our  God  suspends  a 
leading  principle  of  his  physical  and  moral  order, 
for  the  sake  of  barring  the  seed  of  his  people  from 
privilege  ;  and  permits  it  to  take  its  full  course  for 
the  infliction  of  calamity  !  This  is  more  than  in- 
credible ! 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  93 

3.  If  the  children  of  believing  parents  are  not 
members  of  the  church,  before  making  a  profes- 
sion of  their  own  faith,  it  follows,  that  from  the 
day  of  their  birth  to  the  day  of  their  conversion, 
they  stand  in  no  nearer  relation  to  her  than  Pa- 
gans or  Jews.  A  right  to  instruct,  to  warn,  to 
entreat  them,  she  certainly  has ;  and  she  has  the 
same  right  with  regard  to  the  Jew  or  the  Pagan ; 
but  no  authority  over  any  of  them.  Her  jurisdic- 
diction  being  necessarily  confined  to  her  own  sub- 
jects ;  having  no  power  to  "judge  them  that  are 
without ;"  and  the  children  of  her  members  being 
"  without,"  she  can  take  no  cognizance  of  them 
which  she  might  not  take  of  infant  or  adult  heathen 
who  are  within  her  reach.  As  it  is  their  own  act 
upon  which  they  are  admitted  into  her  number, 
so  it  is  that  same  act  by  which  she  acquires  any 
right  of  directing  them.  Their  parents  she  can 
enjoin  to  "  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  ad- 
monition of  the  Lord,"  because  God  has  rendered 
it  a  branch  of  parental  duty ;  and  she  ought  to  en- 
force the  observance  of  his  law  by  all  those  spi- 
ritual means  which  he  has  confided  to  her  zeal. 
But  if  parents  be  incapable  of  fulfilling  their  obli- 
gations ;  if  they  should  happen  to  be  separated 
from  their  families ;  to  fail  through  negligence,  or 
be  cut  off  by  death :  or  if  the  children  prove  re- 
fractory to  parental  admonition ;  in  none  of  these 
cases  can  the  church  of  God  interpose  any  fur- 


94  Church  of  God. 

ther  than  to  perform  an  act  of  voluntary  benevo- 
lence. Authority  is  out  of  the  question.  For  what 
authority  can  she  have  over  those  who  never 
sought  her  fellowship ;  to  whom  she  has  denied 
her  privileges;  and  whom  she  disowns  as  mem- 
bers ?  The  same  principle  upon  which  she  at- 
tempts to  control  the  children  of  her  members, 
would  justify  her  in  attempting  to  legislate  for 
others  who  are  without  her  pale,  extending  her  dis- 
cipline to  Jews,  Turks,  Pagans  ;  nay,  to  the  whole 
world  lying  in  wickedness.  If  she  may  not  do  this, 
the  reason,  and  the  only  reason,  is  that  they  are 
not  her  members ;  which  reason  is  equally  valid 
in  the  case  of  children  who  are  not  her  members. 
The  alternative  is  plain ;  either  the  church  of  God 
must  give  up  her  care  over  youth  who  have  not 
made  a  profession  of  their  faith ;  or  in  order  to 
exercise  it  must  commit  an  act  of  usurpation. 

But  how  can  a  Christian  be  reconciled  to  either 
part  of  the  alternative  ?  How  can  he  persuade 
himself  that  children  born  of  the  people  of  God, 
consecrated  to  his  fear,  and  declared  by  his  in- 
spired apostle  to  be  "  holy,"  are  no  more  mem- 
bers of  his  church,  than  the  savage  who  wanders 
upon  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  ?  How  can  he 
persuade  himself,  that  among  the  solemn  trusts  oi 
the  Christian  church,  that  most  important  one  of 
superintending  the  youth,  has  been  omitted? 
That  she  has  received  no  charge,  possesses  no 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  95 

power,  and  is  under  no  responsibility,  on  this  sub- 
ject, further  than  to  stimulate  the  individual  efforts 
of  parents,  masters,  or  teachers  ?  If  she  has  re- 
ceived any  other  commandment;  if,  in  her  social 
character,  she  is  bound  to  provide  for  "  training 
up  a  child  in  the  way  in  which  he  should  go," 
then  the  children  to  be  so  trained,  must  be  treat- 
ed as  her  members ;  and  are  members  in  fact,  for 
God  never  vested  her  with  authority  over  any 
who  are  not. 

To  set  this  point  in  another  light.  God,  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  his  providence,  does  actually 
gather  his  "  true  worshippers"  from  the  families 
of  his  people ;  and,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  days 
of  their  youth.  He  does  it  most  conspicuously  in 
those  churches  which  subject  them,  when  young, 
to  the  most  exemplary  inspection.  He  has,  on 
the  other  hand,  frowned  upon  churches  as  they 
became  remiss  in  this  particular ;  his  good  Spirit 
has  departed  from  them ;  and  there  are  not  a  few 
which,  at  this  hour,  may  trace  their  declension 
and  the  rapid  approach  of  their  desolation,  to  the 
neglect  of  their  youth.  But  to  deny  that  children 
are  members  of  the  church,  is  to  deny  both  her 
duty  and  her  right  to  exercise  any  public  authori- 
ty over  them ;  and  to  deny  it  in  opposition  both 
to  the  blessing  and  the  curse  of  God ;  is  to  smite 
the  Redeemer's  kingdom  in  the  heart  of  one  of 
its  most  precious  interests,  the  youth ;  and  to  do 


96  Church  of  God. 

it  much  deeper  and  more  effectual  injury,  than  it 
is  likely  to  suffer  from  the  assaults  of  open  enemies. 

These  consequences  appear  to  us  inevitable. 
Far  from  us  be  the  thought  of  imputing  them  to 
those  who  reject  the  church  membership  of  in- 
fants; or  of  asserting  that  they  do  in  fact  occur 
as  regularly  as  we  might  expect.  For,  on  the 
one  hand,  God  does  not  permit  Errour  to  mature 
all  the  deadly  fruits  which  she  is  capable  of  bear- 
ing :  and,  on  the  other,  the  nature  of  human  so- 
ciety is  not  to  be  subverted  by  theory.  Let  men 
profess  what  they  please ;  let  them  renounce,  and 
if  they  think  fit,  ridicule,  our  doctrine;  it  is  never- 
theless true,  that  they  cannot  get  along  in  the  re- 
ligious any  more  than  in  the  civil  community, 
without  more  or  less  considering  children  as 
members.  And  it  is  their  acting  upon  the  very 
principle  which  they  represent  as  unscriptural  and 
absurd,  that  saves  their  churches  from  speedy 
destruction. 

4.  From  the  date  of  the  covenant  with  Abra- 
ham, to  the  cessation  of  the  Mosaic  law,  infants 
were  undoubtedly  members  of  God's  church. 
The  seal  of  his  covenant  was  in  their  flesh  ;  and 
it  was  deemed  by  every  Hebrew  a  prerogative  of 
inestimable  worth.  "  Uncircumcised,"  was  the 
most  bitter  and  disdainful  reproach  which  his 
mouth  could  utter.  He  would  sooner  lay  his 
sons  in  the  grave,  than  permit  them  go  without 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  97 

the  token  of  their  being  Abraham's  seed.  On 
these  facts  we  found  three  inquiries.  The  first 
relating  to  the  privilege  which  God  conferred 
upon  his  people;  the  second  to  the  effect  which 
the  recalling  of  it  produced  on  them ;  and  the 
third  to  their  state  of  feeling  under  the  loss. 

First.  "  The  sign  of  circumcision,  a  seal  of  the 
righteousness  of  faith,"  applied,  by  divine  direc- 
tion, to  infant  members  of  the  church,  was  a  high 
privilege. 

This  cannot,  with  even  a  show  of  reason,  be 
disputed.  That  God  should  subject  them  to  a 
painful  rite  which  was  of  no  use — that  the  indeli- 
ble certification  of  his  being  their  God  as  he  had 
been  the  God  of  their  fathers,  should  be  coupled 
with  no  benefit — that  he  should  draw  them  into 
covenant  relations  which  were  good  for  nothing 
no  man  is  sottish  enough  to  pretend.  Their  con- 
dition, therefore,  as  members  of  his  church,  and 
the  sacramental  sign  of  it,  was  a  real  and  an  im- 
portant privilege. 

What  has  become  of  it  ? 

If  infants  are  no  longer  members  of  his  church, 
it  is  taken  away,  and  what  has  replaced  it  ?  No- 
thing, Nothing  !  then  God  has  put  the  children  of 
his  people  under  the  new  dispensation,  fur^er 
from  him  than  they  were  under  the  old.  He  has 
inverted   his  method   of  providence  toward  his 

church,  which  has  uniformly  been  to  bless  her 
Vol.  IV.  13 


98  Church  of  God. 

with  progressive  light  and  favour.  The  commu- 
nication of  his  grace  and  truth  always  increasing, 
never  diminished.  Each  succeeding  dispensation 
comprehending  the  whole  mass  of  benefits  which 
belonged  to  the  preceding,  and  adding  others  of 
its  own.  But  in  this  solitary,  instance  the  course 
of  his  covenant  is  changed  !  And  whereas  he  had 
formerly  separated  his  people  from  the  heathen 
that  knew  him  not ;  had  drawn  around  them  a 
line  of  covenant  goodness ;  had  put  their  little  ones 
within  the  holy  circle ;  and  had  instructed  them 
to  cherish  the  distinction  as,  in  his  sight,  of  great 
price — yet  now,  when  he  is  to  enlarge  their  inhe- 
ritance, and  enrich  their  joys  ;  to  fulfil  the  pro- 
mise of  those  good  things  which  "  eye  had  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  had  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man,"  he  begins  with  telling  them  that 
though  he  will  still  be  their  God,  he  will  no  longer 
be  the  God  of  their  seed;  that  he  has  cast  their 
babes  out  of  his  church,  over  the  line  of  his  co- 
venant, in  among  the  "  dogs."  And  all  this,  after 
he  had  sworn  that  he  would  "  not  break  his  cove- 
nant, nor  alter  the  thing  that  had  gone  out  of  his 
mouth:"  and  having  done  it,  commissions  his 
apostle  to  declare,  that  "  his  gifts  and  his  calling 
are^without  repentance  ;"  i.  e.  that  a  grant  which 
he  has  once  made  to  his  church,  he  never  annuls  ! 
Believe  it  who  can.# 

*  Rom.  xi.  29.  l^at  the  imchangeableness  of  God's  gifts  and 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  99 

Let  us,  however,  allow  that  we  have  miscon- 
strued the  divine  covenant ;  and  that  infants  born 
after  the  settlement  of  the  new  economy,  had  no 
such  claim  as  had  the  infant  posterity  of  Abra- 
ham. How  did  the  arrangement  affect  the  chil- 
dren of  those  who  were  the  first  members  of  the 
Christian  church  ?  For  example,  those  who  were 
added  to  her  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  ?  This  is  our 

Second  Inquiry. 

The  rule  of  God's  proceeding  against  those 
who  should  reject  the  Messiah,  was  laid  down  by 
Moses  ;  and  is  thus  quoted  and  explained  by  the 
apostle  Peter  :  "  Moses  truly  said  unto  the  Fathers, 
a  prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up  unto  you, 
of  your  brethren,  like  unto  me-,  him  shall  ye  hear  in  all 
things  whatsoever  he  shall  say  unto  you.  And  it  shall 
come  to  pass,  that  every  soul  which  will  not  hear 

THAT  PROPHET,  SHALL  BE  DESTROYED  FROM  AMONG 
THE  PEOPLE.   Act.  ill.  22,  23. 

calling  refers  to  his  church,  we  conclude  from  the  whole  scope  of 
the  apostle's  reasoning  in  the  context ;  part  of  which  proves  the 
recovery  of  Israel  to  the  mercies  of  their  fathers ;  and  proves  it 
from  the  consideration,  that  it  is  God's  gracious  design  to  rein- 
state them  in  their  privileges  ;  that  this  design  is  to  be  accomplish- 
ed in  virtue  of  the  "  gifts  and  calling"  to  their  fathers  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob.  And  as  they  cannot  be  reinstated  but  by  em- 
bracing Christianity,  these  unchangeable  "gifts  and  calling,"  must 
be  continued  in  the  New  Testament  church.  Infant  membership 
was,  incontrovertibly,  one  of  the  gifts :  therefore,  if  the  children 
of  his  people  are  not  members  of  his  church,  God  has  broken  his 
covenant. 


100  Church  of  God. 

The  sin  of  which  the  Jews  were  warned  by  their 
great  law-giver,  was  their  not  obeying  the  voice 
of  his  great  successor;  that  is,  the  sin  of  reject- 
ing the  Messiah.  The  punishment  denounced 
against  this  sin,  was  "  destruction  from  among  the 
people."  Who  were  the  people  ?  And  what  was 
the  destruction? 

(1.)  Who  were  the  people? 

Not  the  nation  of  the  Jews.  For,  having  com- 
mitted the  crime,  they  themselves  fell  under  the 
penalty.  Their  nation  was  to  be  destroyed $ 
whereas,  according  to  the  prediction  of  Moses, 
it  was  not  the  people  that  were  to  perish  ;  but  the 
disobedient  who  were  to  be  destroyed  from  among 
the  people ;  which  implies  the  continuance  of  that 
people  in  the  divine  protection.  It  is  a  people, 
therefore,  which  was  to  survive  the  rejection  of 
the  Jews,  and  be  placed  in  such  circumstances  of 
favour,  as  to  render  destruction  from  among  them 
a  great  and  terrible  judgment. 

Not  the  people  whom  God  "  hath  chosen  in 
Christ  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that 
they  should  be  holy."  For  God  never  cast  away 
his  people  whom  he  foreknew*  They  who  com- 
mitted the  crime  before  us,  never  belonged  to  his 
people,  and  so  could  not  be  destroyed  from  among 
them  ;  and  they  whom  God  had  thus  chosen  did 

*  Rom.  xi.  2.     Aets  xiii.  48. 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  101 

not  commit  the  crime.  "  As  many  as  were  ordain- 
ed unto  eternal  life,  believed." 

Who  then  are  "  the  people"  from  among  whom 
the  sinners  were  to  be  destroyed  ?  If  not  the 
Jewish  people,  if  not  the  elected  people  of  God,  it 
can  be  no  other  than  that  PEOPLE  whom  he 
owns  as  his,  and  who  are  called  by  the  collective 
name  of  his  church.*-  9 

(2.)  What  was  the  "  destruction  ?" 

Not  temporal  death :  for  God  never  ordained 
this  punishment  for  the  sin  of  unbelief  on  his  son. 

Not  an  exclusion  from  the  communion  of  the 
Jewish  nation ;  for  unbelief  in  Christ  was  to  them 
a  recommendation  instead  of  a  disparagement ; 
and  to  be  severed  from  them  entirely,  was  at  least 
as  likely  to  prove  a  blessing  as  a  curse. 

In  what,  then,  did  the  destruction  consist  ?  Un- 

*  This  passage  furnishes  an  irrefragable  proof  of  the  unity  and 
perpetuity  of  the  Visible  Church. 

For,  1.  These  rebels  were  a  part  of  the  people  from  among 
whom  they  were  to  be  destroyed  :  which  people  we  have  proved, 
could  be  no  other  than  the  people  or  church  of  God. 

2.  The  people  or  chuich  from  which  they  were  to  be  destroyed, 
was  to  remain  a  people,  and  the  peculiar  object  of  the  divine  re- 
gard. This  is  true  of  no  people  but  that  which  composes  his 
church.  The  Christian  chuch  is  therefore  the  very  same  church 
from  which  the  Jews  were  cast  out. 

3.  The  term  "people"  cannot  designate  the  church  otherwise 
than  as  a  great  WHOLE.  The  more  we  "  search  the  scriptures," 
the  more  does  a  "cloud  of  witnesses"  thicken  round  us  to  testify 
that  "  the  Church  of  God  is  ONE." 


102  Church  of  God. 

doubtedly,  in  having  their  name  and  place  exter- 
minated from  among  the  people  of  God ;  in  being 
cast  out  of  his  church,  and  exposed  to  that  perdi- 
tion which  shall  be  the  fate  of  all  whom  he  dis- 
owns. This  must  be  the  interpretation  of  the 
threatening,  because  no  other  will  comport  with 
either  sense  or  fact. 

%Let  us  now  see  how  this  bears  upon  the  point 
before  us. 

The  unbelieving  Jews  were  cut  off,  for  their 
unbelief,  from  the  church  of  God ;  and,  surely,  it 
will  not  be  accounted  the  least  part  of  the  ven- 
geance, that  their  children  shared  their  fate. 

But  the  case  of  believing  Jews  was  exactly  the 
reverse.  If  they  who  would  not  hear  the  divine 
prophet  were  to  be  destroyed  from  among  the 
people  ;  it  certainly  follows,  that  they  who  would 
and  did  hear  him,  should  not  be  destroyed  ;  but 
should  retain  their  place  and  privileges.  And  if, 
in  the  execution  of  the  curse  upon  the  disobedient, 
their  children  also  were  cut  off;  then,  God's  own 
act  establishing  the  principle  of  judgment,  the 
children  of  those  who  were  not  disobedient,  par- 
ticipated in  their  blessing ;  i.  e.  instead  of  being 
destroyed  from  among  the  people,  were  num- 
bered with  them  ;  or,  which  is  the  same,- were,  by 
his  own  authority,  reckoned  members  of  his 
church. 

These  infants,  then,  being  in  the  church  of  God 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  103 

already,  the  question  is,  by  what  authority  were 
they  cast  out?  It  would  be  an  unheard  of  thing  if 
the  faith  of  their  parents  in  the  "  consolation  of 
Israel,"  should  expel  them.  A  singular  way,  in- 
deed, of  converting  a  Jew,  to  tell  him  that  the 
very  fact  of  his  being  a  believer  in  Christ  would 
excommunicate  his  children  !  The  issue  is  short. 
Either  the  children  of  believing  Jews  were  mem- 
bers of  the  church  under  her  Christian  form,  or 
not.  If  not,  then,  in  so  far  as  their  children  were 
concerned,  God  inflicted  upon  the  faith  of  parents, 
that  very  curse  which  he  had  threatened  upon 
their  unbelief  If  otherwise,  then  at  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  new  dispensation,  infants  were 
members  of  his  church.  We  give  our  opponents, 
their  option. 

We  have  yet  to  answer  a 

Third  Inquiry,  concerning  the  excision  of  in- 
fants from  the  New  Testament  church  :  or,  if  you 
prefer  it,  their  non-admission  to  her  privileges. 

How  must  such  a  measure  have  operated  upon 
the  feelings  of  a  believing  Jew  ? 

Tenacious,  in  a  high  degree,  of  their  peculiari- 
ties— regarding  their  relation  to  Abraham  as 
momentous  to  their  individual  happiness  ;  and  as 
the  most  prominent  feature  of  their  national  glory 
— knowing,  too,  that  their  children  were  compri- 
sed with  themselves  in  the  covenant  of  God,  it  is 
not  possible  that  the  Hebrews  could  have  sub- 


104  Church  of  God. 

mitted,  without  reluctance,  to  a  constitution  which 
was  to  strip  them  of  their  favourite  privilege;  to 
dissever  their  tenderest  ties ;  to  blot  the  names  of 
their  little  ones  out  of  the  register  of  God's  peo- 
ple ;  and  treat  them  afterwards,  from  generation 
to  generation,  as  the  little  ones  of  the  heathen 
man  and  the  publican  !  On  every  other  preroga- 
tive, real  or  imaginary,  their  suspicion  was  awake, 
their  zeal  inflammable,  their  passions  intractable. 
But  toward  this,  their  grand  prerogative,  they 
evinced  a  tameness  which  required  them  to  for- 
get, at  once,  that  they  were  men  and  that  they 
were  Jews.  Search  the  records  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  you  will 
not  find  the  trace  of  a  remonstrance,  an  objec- 
tion, or  a  difficulty  on  this  subject,  from  the  mouth 
of  either  a  believing  or  an  unbelieving  Israelite  ! 
The  former  never  parted  with  a  tittle  of  even  the 
Mosaic  law,  till  the  will  of  God  was  so  clearly 
demonstrated  as  to  remove  every  doubt  :  the  lat- 
ter lay  constantly  in  wait  for  matter  of  accusation 
against  the  Christians.  Nothing  could  have 
prompted  him  to  louder  clamour,  to  fiercer  resis- 
tance, or  to  heavier  charges,  than  an  attempt  to 
overturn  a  fundamental  principle  of  the  covenant 
with  Abraham  :  nothing  could  have  more  startled 
and  distressed  the  meek  and  modest  disciple. 
Yet  that  attempt  is  made ;  that  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  is  overturn- 


No.   V. — Infant  members.  105 

ed ;  and  not  a  friend  complains,  nor  a  foe  resents  ! 
What  miracle  of  enchantment  has  so  instantane- 
ously relieved  the  conscience  of  the  one,  and 
calmed  the  warmth  of  the  other  ?  Where  is  that 
wayward  vanity,  that  captious  criticism,  that  com- 
bustible temperament,  that  insidious,  implacable, 
restless  enmity,  which  by  night  and  by  day,  in  coun- 
try and  in  town,  haunted  the  steps  of  the  apostles, 
and  treasured  up  actions,  words,  looks,  for  the 
hour  of  convenient  vengeance  ?  All  gone ;  dissi- 
pated in  a  moment  !  The  proud  and  persecuting 
Pharisee  rages  at  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ; 
fights  for  his  traditions  and  his  phylacteries  ;  and 
utters  not  a  syllable  of  dissent  from  a  step  which 
completely  annihilates  the  covenant  with  Abra- 
ham !  that  very  covenant  from  which  he  pro- 
fesses to  derive  his  whole  importance ! !  We 
can  believe  a  great  deal,  but  not  quite  so  much 
as  this. 

Should  it  be  alleged,  that  the  Jews  did  proba- 
bly oppose  the  exclusion  of  their  infants  from  the 
New  Testament  church,  although  the  sacred  wri- 
ters have  omitted  to  mention  it :  we  reply, 

That   although  many  things    have   happened 

which  were  never  recorded  ;  and,  therefore,  that 

the  mere  silence  of  an  historian,  is  not,  in  itself, 

conclusive  against  their  existence  ;  yet  no  man 

may  assume,  as  proof,  the  existence  of  a  fact 

which  is  unsupported  by  either  history  or  tradi- 
Vol.  IV.  14 


106  Church  of  God. 

tion.  On  this  ground,  the  plea  which  we  have 
stopped  to  notice  is  perfectly  nugatory. 

In  the  present  case,  however,  the  probabilities 
look  all  the  other  way.  We  mean,  that  if  the 
Jews  had  made  the  opposition,  which  on  the  sup- 
position we  are  combatting,  it  is  inconceivable 
they  should  not  have  made,  it  would  have  been 
so  interwoven  with  the  origin,  constitution,  pro- 
gress, and  transactions  of  the  primitive  church, 
as  to  have  rendered  an  omission  of  it  almost 
impossible. 

The  question  about  circumcision  and  the  obli- 
gation on  the  Gentile  converts  to  keep  the  law 
of  Moses,  shook  the  churches  to  their  centre;  and 
was  not  put  at  rest  but  by  a  formal  decision  of  the 
apostles  and  elders.  Now  as  circumcision  was 
the  seal  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  which  ex- 
plicitly constituted  infants  members  of  the  church, 
is  it  to  be  imagined  that  so  hot  a  controversy 
should  have  been  kindled  about  the  ensealing  rite, 
and  none  at  all  about  the  privilege  sealed  ?  or 
that  a  record  should  have  been  carefully  preserved 
of  the  disputes  and  decision  concerning  the  sign  ; 
and  no  record  at  all  kept  of  the  discussions  con- 
cerning the  thing  signified,  which  imparted  to  the 
former  all  their  interest  and  value  ? 

It  is,  therefore,  utterly  incredible  that  the  resis- 
tance of  Jews  to  the  Christian  arrangement  for 
shutting  out  their  children  from  the  church  of  God, 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  107 

should  have  passed  unnoticed.  But  no  notice  of 
any  such  resistance  is  in  the  New  Testament. 
The  conclusion  is,  that  no  such  resistance  was 
ever  offered  :  and  the  conclusion  from  this  again 
is,  that  no  cause  for  it  existed ;  that  is,  that  the 
infants  of  professing  parents  were  considered  as 
holding,  under  the  new  economy,  the  same  place 
and  relation  which  they  held  under  the  old. 

Our  conclusion  acquires  much  force  from  the 
nature  of  the  controversy  respecting  circumcision. 
The  Judaizing  teachers  made  the  observance  of 
this  rite,  a  term,  not  only  of  communion,  but  of 
salvation.  Except  ye  be  circumcised,  said  they,  and 
keep  the  law  of  Moses,  ye  cannot  he  saved.  Had 
their  doctrine  prevailed,  circumcision  in  the  Chris- 
tian church  must  have  been  regulated  by  the  Mo- 
saic law.  But  this  law  prescribed  the  circumci- 
sion of  infants.  Now,  under  what  pretext  could 
they  urge  a  compliance  with  this  ordinance,  ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  Moses,  upon  the  Gentile 
converts,  unless  it  were  an  undisputed  point  that  the 
children  of  these  converts  were  members  of  the 
Christian  church  ?  An  exception  was  at  hand. 
"  Whatever  may  be  the  duty  of  adults,  there  is  no 
reason  to  circumcise  infants  ;  because,  by  the  new 
order  of  things,  they  do  not  belong  to  the  Chris- 
tian community,  and  have  no  concern  with  its 
sealing  ordinances."  Yet  no  such  exception  was 
ever  taken. 


108  Church  of  God. 

This  one  fact,  under  all  its  circumstances  and 
connexions,*  is  equivalent  to  a  doctrinal  declara- 
tion of  the  apostles  and  elders  at  Jerusalem,  that 
the  change  of  dispensation  has  not  affected  the 
rights  of  infants  born  of  believing  parents  ;  and 
that  they  are  under  the  Christian,  as  really  as  they 
were  under  the  Mosaic,  economy,  members  of  the 
church  of  God ;  and  as  fully  entitled  to  its  initia- 
ting ordinance. 

5.  The  language  of  God's  word,  respecting  chil- 
dren, is  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  principle 
of  their  being  members  of  his  church ;  but  is  irre- 
concileable  with  the  contrary  supposition. 

Enumerating  some  of  the  benefits  of  the  new 
economy,  he  says,  by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  that  his 
people  "  shall  not  labour  in  vain,  nor  bring  forth 
for  "  trouble;  for  they  are  the  seed  of  the  blessed 
of  the  Lord,  and  their  offspring  with  them^'f  The 
Redeemer,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  was  much  dis- 
pleased with  an  attempt  of  his  disciples  to  keep 
back  infants  from  approaching  him,  and  said, 
u  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and 
forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdon  ofGod.^X 
An  expression  which,  we  well  know,  signifies  the 
New  Testament  church.  "  The  promise,"  said 
Peter,  after  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  at  Pen- 
tecost, "  The  promise  is  to  you,  and  to  your  chil- 
dren.^ 

*  Compare  Acts  xxi.  21.  %  Mark  x.  14. 

f  Is.  lxv.  23.  §  Acts  ii.  39. 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  109 

These  and  similar  expressions,  with  which  the 
word  of  God  abounds,  correspond  much  better  to 
that  system  which  associates  children  with  their 
parents  in  his  church,  than  with  that  which  re- 
jects them  as  no  part  of  it.  And  we  must  have 
very  strong  reasons  to  justify  our  embracing  a  sys- 
tem which  requires  a  language  contrary  to  the 
genius  of  the  language  which  the  Holy  Spirit  him- 
self has  selected. 

6.  Unless  we  greatly  mistake,  the  apostle  Paul 
has  twice  decided  the  question  before  us  in  the 
most  unequivocal  manner ;  and  decided  it  in  our 
favour. 

One  of  his  decisions  is  in  the  following  words  : 
"  The  unbelieving  husband  is  sanctified  by  the 
wife ;  and  the  unbelieving  wife  is  sanctified  by 
the  husband ;  else  were  your  children  unclean,  but 
now  are  they  holy."# 

In  what  sense  does  a  believing,  sanctify  an  un- 
believing, parent,  so  that  their  children  are  holy  ? 
Wherein  does  this  holiness  consist?  Some  have 
been  so  galled  by  this  assertion  of  the  apostle, 
that  they  have  tried  to  fritter  it  down  into  a  grave 
declaration  of  the  legitimacy  of  children  born  of 
parents  thus  situated.  As  if  faith  in  Christ  were 
necessary  to  the  validity  of  espousals  !  As  if  all 
the  marriages  of  the  heathen  were  mere  concubi- 

*  1  Cor.  vii.  14. 


110  Church  of  God. 

nage ;  and  all  their  children  the  fruit  of  illicit 


amours ! 


The  apostle  certainly  does  not  mean  that  one 
parent  communicates  to  another,  or  that  either  of 
them  communicates  to  their  children,  that  inter- 
nal conformity  to  the  divine  purity,  which  is  com- 
monly called  "  holiness"  or  salification.  This  is 
contrary  to  reason,  to  scripture,  and  to  daily  ex- 
perience. Yet  he  says  that  a  believing  parent 
renders  holy  the  unbelieving  one;  and  that,  in 
consequence,  their  children  are  holy.  What  does 
he  mean  ? 

"  Holy,"  as  a  term  of  established  use  and  sig- 
nification, was  well  understood  by  the  Corinthian 
Christians.  It  expresses  the  state  of  a  person  or  \ 
thing  specially  separated  to  the  service  of  God ; 
and  in  which,  by  reason  of  that  separation,  he  ac- 
quires a  peculiar  property.  For  this  interpreta- 
tion we  have  his  own  authority — when  prohibiting 
various  pollutions,  he  thus  addresses  the  people 
of  Israel ;  Ye  shall  be  holy  unto  me :  for  I  the  Lord 
am  holy  ;  and  have  severed  you  from  other  people, 
that  ye  shoidd  be  mine.  Lev.  xx.  26.  This  "  sever- 
ing" was  effected  by  his  covenant  with  them. 
They  were  "  holy,"  because  they  belonged  to  his 
church,  which  he  had  erected  to  put  his  name  and 
his  glory  there. 

"  Unclean,"  as  contrasted  with  "  holy,"  express 
es  the  state  of  a  person  not  separated  to  the  ser- 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  Ill 

vice  of  God :  in  whom  he  has  no  peculiar  interest, 
and  who  is,  therefore,  "  common ;"  i.  e.  unappro- 
priated to  God.  All  who  are  conversant  with  the 
scriptural  phraseology  know  this  representation 
to  be  true. 

What,  then,  does  the  apostle  say  ?  He  says  that 
if  the  unbelieving,  were  not  sanctified  by  the  be- 
lieving, parent,  their  children  would  be  "  unclean ;'' 
would  be  "common;"  would  have  no  peculiar 
relation  to  God,  nor  any  place  in  his  church.  But 
since  the  believing,  does  sanctify  the  unbelieving, 
parent,  their  children  are  the  reverse  of  "un- 
clean :"  they  are  "  holy ;"  they  are  born  under  pe- 
culiar relations  to  God;  they  are  appropriated  to 
him ;  they  are  members  of  his  church ;  and  as 
they  undoubtedly  have  a  right  to  the  token  of  their 
membership — to  baptism. 

Considering  the  nature  of  the  scriptural  style  ; 
and  that  "  holy,"  and  "  unclean,"  or  "  common," 
are  the  precise  terms  for  such  as  were,  and  as 
were  not,  respectively,  within  the  external  cove- 
nant of  God,  we  are  unable  to  conceive  how  the 
apostle  could  more  formally  and  unequivocally 
have  declared  the  church  membership  of  infants 
born  of  a  believing  parent.  The  first  of  these 
terms  was,  in  his  mouth,  exactly  what  "  a  mem- 
ber of  the  church"  is  in  ours  ;  and  could  not 
be  otherwise  understood  by  the  primitive  Chris- 
tians. 


J 12  Church  of  God. 

The  only  plausible  difficulty  which  lies  against 
our  view,  is,  that  "  According  to  the  same 
reasoning,  an  unbeliever,  continuing  in  unbelief  be- 
comes a  member  of  the  church  in  consequence  of 
marriage  with  a  believer.  For  the  apostle  does 
not  more  positively  affirm  that  the  children  are 
"  holy,"  than  he  affirms  that  the  unbelieving  hus- 
band is  sanctified  by  the  wife,  and  the  unbelieving 
wife  sanctified,  or  "  made  holy,"  by  the  husband. 
Therefore,  if  holiness  imparted  by  the  parent  to 
the  children,  makes  them  members  of  the  church, 
the  holiness  imparted  by  one  parent  to  the  other, 
makes  him  or  her,  a  member  of  the  church.  This 
will  not  be  maintained.  For  it  would  be  absurd 
to  imagine,  that  an  infidel  adult,  living  in  open 
hostility  to  the  church  of  God,  should  be  reckon- 
ed among  its  members  merely  in  virtue  of  union 
to  a  believing  husband  or  wife.  Well  then,  if  the 
"  sanctification,"  which  an  unbelieving  wife  de- 
rives from  her  believing  husband,  does  not  make 
her  a  member  of  the  church,  the  "  holiness"  which 
children  derive  from  a  believing  parent,  cannot 
make  them  members  of  the  church." 

The  objection  is  shrewd  :  but,  like  many  other 
shrewd  things,  more  calculated  to  embarrass 
an  inquirer,  than  to  assist  him.  Our  answer  is 
short. 

First,  It  makes  the  apostle  talk  nonsense.  The 
amount  of  it  when  stripped  of  its  speciousness 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  113 

and  tried  by  the  standard  of  common  sense,  being 
neither  more  nor  less  than  this,  that  all  his  dis- 
course about  the  sanctification  of  husband  and 
wife,  and  the  holiness  of  their  children,  means — 
just  nothing  at  all.  For  if  it  be  not  an  internal 
holiness,  which  we  do  not  affirm ;  nor  an  external 
relative  holiness,  which  the  objection  denies; 
then  a  person  is  said  by  the  apostle  to  be  holy, 
whose  holiness  is  neither  within  him  nor  without 
him ;  neither  in  soul,  nor  spirit,  nor  body,  nor 
state,  nor  condition,  nor  any  thing  else :  which,  in 
our  apprehension,  is  as  genuine  nonsense  as  can 
well  be  uttered.  If  those  who  differ  from  us  feel 
themselves  wronged,  we  heg  them  to  show  in 
ichat  the  holiness  mentioned  by  the  apostle  consists. 

Secondly.  The  objection  takes  for  granted,  that 
the  sanctification  of  the  husband  by  his  wife,  or 
of  the  wife  by  her  husband,  is  precisely  of  the 
same  extent,  and  produces  on  its  subject  the  same 
effect,  as  the  holiness  which  children  inherit  from 
a  believing  parent.     This  is  certainly  erroneous. 

(1.)  The  covenant  of  God  never  founded  the 
privilege  of  membership  in  his  church  upon  the 
mere  fact  of  intermarriage  with  his  people  :  but  it 
did  expressly  found  that  privilege  upon  the  fact  of 
being  born  of  them. 

(2.)  By  a  positive  precept,  adults  were  not  to 

be  admitted  into  the  church  without  a  profession 

of  their  faith.     This  is  a  special  statute,  limiting, 
Vol.  IV.  \5 


114  Church  of  God. 

in  the  case  of  adults,  the  general  doctrine  of  mem- 
bership. Consequently,  the  doctrine  of  Paul 
must  be  explained  by  the  restriction  of  that 
statute.  "  Sanctify"  her  unbelieving  husband  the 
believing  wife  does  ;  and  so  does  the  believing 
husband  his  unbelieving  wife;  i.  e.  to  a  certain 
length  ;  but  not  so  far  as  to  render  the  partner 
thus  sanctified,  a  member  of  the  church — The 
former  cannot  be  doubted,  for  the  apostle  peremp- 
torily asserts  it — The  latter  cannot  be  admitted  ; 
for  it  would  contravene  the  statute  already  quo- 
ted. The  membership  of  infants  does  not  con- 
travene it.  And,  therefore,  although  the  holiness 
which  the  apostle  ascribes  to  infants  involves  their 
membership  ;  it  does  not  follow  that  the  sancti- 
fying influence  over  an  unbelieving  husband  or 
wife,  which  he  ascribes  to  the  believing  wife  or 
husband,  involves  the  church  membership  of  the 
party  thus  sanctified. 

(3.)  The  very  words  of  the  text  lead  to  the  same 
conclusion.  They  teach  us,  in  the  plainest  man- 
ner, that  this  sanctification  regards  the  unbeliev- 
ing parent  not  for  his  own  sake,  but  as  a  medium 
affecting  the  transmission  of  covenant  privilege  to 
the  children  of  a  believer. 

A  simple,  and  we  think,  satisfactory  account  of 
the  matter,  is  this  : 

Among  the  early  conversions  to  Christianity,  it 
often  happened,  that  the  gospel  was  believed  by  a 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  115 

woman,  and  rejected  by  her  husband;  or  believed 
by  a  man,  and  rejected  by  his  wife.  One  of  the 
invariable  effects  of  Christianity  being  a  tender 
concern  in  parents  for  the  welfare  of  their  off- 
spring ;  a  question  was  naturally  suggested  by 
such  a  disparity  of  religious  condition,  as  to  the 
light  in  which  the  children  were  to  be  viewed. 
Considering  the  one  parent,  they  were  to  be  ac- 
counted "  holy ;"  but  considering  the  other,  they 
were  to  be  accounted  "  unclean."  Did  the  cha- 
racter of  the  former  place  them  ivithin  the  church 
of  God ;  or  the  character  of  the  latter  without  it  ? 
or  did  they  belong  partly  to  the  church  and  partly 
to  the  world,  but  wholly  to  neither  ?  The  diffi- 
culty was  a  real  one  ;  and  calculated  to  excite 
much  distress  in  the  minds  of  parents  who,  like 
the  primitive  Christians,  did  not  treat  the  relation 
of  their  little  ones  to  the  church  of  God,  as  a 
slight  and  uninteresting  affair. 

Paul  obviates  it  by  telling  his  Corinthian  friends, 
that  in  this  case  where  the  argument  for  the  chil- 
dren appears  to  be  perfectly  balanced  by  the  ar- 
gument against  them,  God  has  graciously  inclined 
the  scale  in  favour  of  his  people  :  so  that  for  the 
purpose  of  conveying  to  their  infants  the  privilege  of 
being  within  his  covenant  and  church,  the  unbelieving 
husband  is  sanctified  by  the  wife,  and  the  unbe- 
lieving wife  by  the  husband.  If  it  were  not  so,  it 
must  be  the  reverse  ;  because  it  is  impossible  that 


116  Church  of  God. 

a  child  should  be  born  in  two  contrary  moral 
states  :  then,  the  believing  husband  being  render- 
ed "  unclean"  by  his  wife ;  and  the  believing  wife 
"  unclean"  by  her  husband,  their  children  would 
also  be  "  unclean,"-  i.  e.  would  be  born,  not  in  a 
state  of  separation  to  God ;  but  in  a  state  of  sepa- 
ration from  him ;  like  those  who  are  without  the 
bond  of  his  covenant,  and,  not  being  appropriated 
to  him,  are  "  common"  or  "  unclean."  But  now, 
saith  the  apostle,  God  has  determined  that  the 
parental  influence  shall  go  the  other  way.  That 
instead  of  the  interest  which  a  child  has  in  his 
covenant,  by  virtue  of  the  faith  of  one  parent, 
being  made  void  by  the  infidelity  of  the  other  ; 
the  very  fact  of  being  married  to  a  believer,  shall 
so  far  control  the  effect  of  unbelief — shall  so  far 
consecrate  the  infidel  party,  as  that  the  children  of 
such  a  marriage  shall  be  accounted  of  the  cove- 
nanted seed  ;  shall  be  members  of  the  church — 
Now,  saith  Pau1,  they  are  HOLY. 

The  passage  which  we  have  explained,  estab- 
lishes the  church  membership  of  infants  in  ano- 
ther form.  For  it  assumes  the  principle  that  when 
both  parents  are  reputed  believers,  their  children 
belong  to  the  church  of  God  as  a  matter  of  course. 
The  whole  difficulty  proposed  by  the  Corinthians 
to  Paul  grows  out  of  this  principle.  Had  he 
taught,  or  they  understood,  that  no  children,  be 
their  parents  believers  or  unbelievers,  are  to  be 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  117 

accounted  members  of  the  church,  the  difficulty 
could  not  have  existed.  For  if  the  faith  of  both 
parents  could  not  confer  upon  a  child  the  privi- 
lege of  membership,  the  faith  of  only  one  of  them 
certainly  could  not.  The  point  was  decided.  It 
would  have  been  mere  impertinence  to  teaze  the 
apostle  with  queries  which  carried  their  own  an- 
swer along  with  them.  But  on  the  supposition 
that  when  both  parents  were  members,  their  chil- 
dren, also,  were  members ;  the  difficulty  is  very 
natural  and  serious.  "  I  see,"  would  a  Corinthi- 
an convert  exclaim,  "  I  see  the  children  of  my 
Christian  neighbours,  owned  as  members  of  the 
church  of  God  ;  and  I  see  the  children  of  others, 
who  are  unbelievers,  rejected  with  themselves.  I 
believe  in  Christ  myself;  but  my  husband,  my 
wife,  believes  not.  "  What  is  to  become  of  my 
children  ?  Are  they  to  be  admitted  with  myself? 
or  are  they  to  be  cast  off  with  my  partner  ?" 

"  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled,5'  replies  the 
apostle  :  "  God  reckons  them  to  the  believing, 
not  to  the  unbelieving,  parent.  It  is  enough  that 
they  are  yours.  The  infidelity  of  your  partner 
shall  never  frustrate  their  interest  in  the  covenant 
of  your  God.  They  are  'holy'  because  you  are  so." 

This  decision  put  the  subject  at  rest.  And  it 
lets  us  know  that  one  of  the  reasons,  if  not  the 
chief  reason  of  the  doubt,  whether  a  married  per- 
son should  continue,  after  conversion,  in  the  con- 


118  Church  of  God. 

jugal  society  of  an  infidel  partner,  arose  from  a 
fear  lest  such  continuance  should  exclude  the 
children  from  the  church  of  God.  Otherwise  it 
is  hard  to  comprehend  why  the  apostle  should 
dissuade  them  from  separating,  by  such  an  argu- 
ment as  he  has  employed  in  the  text  And  it  is 
utterly  inconceivable  how  such  a  doubt  could 
have  entered  their  minds,  had  not  the  member- 
ship of  infants,  born  of  believing  parents,  been 
undisputed,  and  esteemed  a  high  privilege ;  so 
high  a  privilege,  as  that  the  apprehension  of 
losing  it  made  conscientious  parents  at  a  stand 
whether  they  ought  not  rather  to  break  the  ties 
of  wedlock,  by  withdrawing  from  an  unbelieving 
husband  or  wife.  Thus,  the  origin  of  this  diffi- 
culty on  the  one  hand,  and  the  solution  of  it,  on  the 
other,  concur  in  establishing  our  doctrine,  that, 
by  the  appointment  of  God  himself,  the  infants  of 
believing  parents  are  born  members  of  his  church. 

We  shall  close  this  number,  already  too  long, 
though  but  an  outline,  with  another  decision  on 
the  same  general  question,  from  the  pen  of  the 
same  apostle. 

Treating  of  the  future  restoration  of  the  Jews, 
he  says,  They  also,  if  they  bide  not  still  in  unbelief 
shall  be  g  raffed  in  ;  for  God  is  able  to  graff  them  in 
again.  For  if  thou  wert  cut  out  of  the  olive  tree 
which  is  wild  by  nature  ;  and  wert  graffed,  contrary 
to  nature,  into  a  good  olive  tree  ;  how  much  more  shall 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  119 

these,  which  be  the  natural  branches,  be  graffed  into 
their  own  olive  tree.     Rom.  xi.  23,  24. 

That  the  olive  tree  signifies,  and  can  signify  no- 
thing else  than  the  visible  church  with  the  privi- 
leges dispensed  in  it,  we  abundantly  proved  in  our 
second  number.*-  The  Jews  never  did  belong, 
nationally,  to  any  but  the  external  church;  and 
from  no  other  could  they  be  cut  off.  But,  saith 
Paul,  these  Jews,  "  the  natural  branches,"  have 
been  "  broken  off,"  and  thou  the  Gentile,  "  graffed 
in."  Graffed  into  what?  The  same  tree  from 
which  the  others  were  cut  away.  Then,  not  only 
is  there  a  visible  church ;  but  it  is  the  very  same 
from  which  the  Jews  have  been  excommunicated. 
Or  else  the  apostle  has  asserted  a  falsehood.  For 
if  the  New  Testament  church  be  not  the  same, 
in  substance,  with  the  church  to  which  the  Jews 
belonged,  it  is  not  true  that  the  Gentiles  have 
been  "  graffed  into  the  olive  tree,"  from  which  the 
Jews  have  been  broken  off;  but  a  new  tree  has 
been  planted  :  a  flat  and  formal  contradiction  to 
the  word  of  God !  which  says,  that  the  old  tree 
stands,  and  that  other  branches  are  graffed  in. 
Well,  then,  the  Gentiles  occupy  in  the  church  the 
place  which  the  Jews  did  before  their  expulsion. 
The  new  branch  with  its  buds  is  transferred  to  the 
good  olive  tree,  and  grows  in  its  fatness.  What- 
ever privileges,  therefore,  the  Jews  had  formerly, 

*  45—47. 


120  Church  of  God, 

as  members  of  the  church  of  God,  all  these,  at  least, 
their  Gentile  successors  enjoy.  But  the  member- 
ship of  their  infants  was  one  of  these  privileges ; 
a  principle  one.  Therefore,  the  children  of  Gen- 
tile believers  are  members  of  the  Christian  church. 

Turn,  now,  the  argument.  The  Jews  are  to  be 
restored.  These,  the  "  natural  branches,"  shall 
be  "  graffed  in  again" — shall  be  "  graffed  into  their 
own  olive  tree:'  AGAIN  !  Into  their  OWN  olive 
tree !  Then  their  oivn  tree  is  preserved.  But 
mark,  the  Gentile  branches  are  not  to  be  cut  off. 
So  then,  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  will  belong  to  one 
church ;  will  be  branches  of  the  same  olive  tree. 
But  they  are  to  be  graffed  into  their  own  tree, 
says  Paul.  The  consequence  returns  irresistibly 
upon  us.  The  church  of  God  under  both  dispen- 
sations is  one  and  the  same.  Or  else  the  apostle 
has  told  another  falsehood.  For  if  it  be  not  the 
same,  as  the  Jews  are  to  come  into  the  Christian 
church,  they  will  not  be  graffed  into  their  own 
olive  tree,  but  into  another. 

But  the  Jews,  before  their  excision,  were  with 
their  children,  members  of  the  church.  If,  then, 
they  be  reinstated ;  or  as  the  apostle  expresses  it, 
graffed  in  again,  their  children  also  must  be  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  or  else  God  will  break  his  pro- 
mise, and  the  Holy  Spirit  of  truth,  deceive  their 
hope.  The  restored  Jews,  however,  can  derive 
their  privileges  only  through  the  medium  of  the 


No.  V. — Infant  members.  121 

New  Testament  church.  The  membership  of 
their  infants  is  one  of  the  privileges  to  be  so  de- 
rived ;  therefore,  the  infants  of  believing  parents  are 
members  of  the  New  Testament  church. — Which  was 
to  be  demonstrated. 


i 

Vol.  IV.  16 


123 


CHURCH  OF  GOD, 


No.  VI. 
Uses. 

Believing  that  the  preceding  numbers  contain 
a  true  and  scriptural  account  of  the  visible 
church  in  general,  we  think  it  proper,  before  in- 
quiring into  its  particular  provisions,  to  point  out 
some  of  the  ends  which  it  is  calculated  to  answer, 
and  some  of  the  consequences  which  result  from 
our  doctrine. 

Let  us  briefly  recapitulate. 

Adults  who  make  a  credible  profession  of  their 
faith,  are  to  be  admitted  as  members.* 

Children  of  believing  parents,  that  is,  of  visible 
Christians,  are  members  in  virtue  of  their  birth.t 
So  that  the  Catholic  church  consists  of  all  them 
who,  throughout  the  world,  profess  the  true  reli- 
gion ;  and  of  their  children. 

This  great  community,  which  is  but  one,  has 

*  What  a  credible  profession  is,  see  No.  III.  p.  48—58. 
f  For  the  proof  of  this,  see  our  last  No.  p.  85—121. 


124  Church  of  God. 

special  external  covenant  relations  to  the  Most 
High  God ;  the  fundamental  principle  of  which  is, 
a  dispensation  of  grace  through  a  Redeemer;  and, 
as  an  effect  of  these  relations,  enjoys  special  pri- 
vileges in  which  her  members  have  a  right  to  par- 
ticipate according  to  their  circumstances. 

From  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  it  must  and 
does  happen,  that  many  of  these  members  are 
Christians  only  in  name :  such  as  never  have 
been,  and  never  shall  be,  vitally  united  to  Christ, 
but  shall  die  in  their  iniquity.  Yet  if  their  un- 
soundness be  not  detected  ;  if  by  no  outward 
act  they  reproach  that  worthy  name  by  which 
they  are  called,  their  right,  even  to  sacramental 
privilege,  is  as  firm  and  full  as  the  right  of  a  be- 
liever who  shall  hold  the  highest  place  among  the 
saved.  The  reason,  which  has  been  illustrated 
already,  is,  that  Christian  ordinances  are  admin- 
istered by  men ;  and  the  secret  state  of  the  soul 
before  God  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  their  rule  of 
judgment.  In  this  case,  appearances  and  realities 
are,  to  them,  the  same ;  because  they  have  no 
means  of  forming  an  opinion  of  realities  but  from 
appearances  :  and,  therefore,  officers  in  the  house 
of  God  may,  with  the  most  perfect  good  con- 
science and  fidelity,  give  the  seals  of  his  covenant 
to  such  as  shall  turn  out  to  be  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  perdition.  If  it  were  riot  so,  not  one 
among  all  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  since  the 


No.  VI.— Uses.  125 

ascension  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  could  escape  being 
arraigned  for  treason  at  his  bar.  For  not  one  of 
them  would  dare  to  affirm,  that  he  had  not,  in  a 
single  instance,  given  the  sacramental  sign  to  an 
unbeliever. 

Seeing,  then,  that  false  professors  and  true ;  the 
sincere  and  the  hypocritical;  elected  men  and 
reprobates,  are  mingled  together  in  the  external 
church ;  and  that  there  are  no  human  means  of 
separating  the  "  chaff  which  shall  be  burnt  up 
with  unquenchable  fire,"  from  the  "  wheat  which 
shall  be  gathered  into  the  garner"  of  God,  what 
purpose  does  such  a  constitution  serve?  Does 
not  the  idea  that  such  a  strange  commixture 
should  be  a  church  of  God  shock  the  mind  ?  Is 
it  not  unfriendly  to  piety  ?  And  would  it  not  be 
much  better  if  saints  alone  were  to  be  admitted 
within  her  pale,  to  the  utter  and  absolute  exclu- 
sion of  hypocrites  and  reprobates  ? 

Doubtless  many  think  so.  For  men  are  apt  to 
conceit  that  they  can  mend  the  works  of  God. 
And  such  multitudes  of  expriments  have  been 
made,  in  this  way,  upon  his  church,  that  if  he  had 
not  been  her  keeper  she  would  have  perished 
ages  ago.  When  he  shall  employ  us  to  set  up  a 
church,  it  will  be  soon  enough  to  display  our  skill, 
In  the  mean  time,  let  us  thankfully  submit  to  his 
appointments;  and  humbly  inquire  whether  we 
cannot  discover  in  that  very  constitution  which 


126  Church  of  God. 

has  been  described,  something  not  unworthy  of  his 
wisdom  and  his  goodness  too. 

There  is  a  strong  analogy  between  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  in  the  heart,  in  the  world,  and  in 
the  church.  Not  one  of  them  is  free  from  evil  : 
nor  is  designed  to  be  so  in  the  present  state. 
The  world  teems  with  sin  ;  it  is  full  of  plagues 
and  curses  :  but  it  is  still  God*s  world  ;  the  sub- 
ject of  his  government,  and  the  theatre  of  his 
grace.  The  renewed  heart  is  infested  with  de- 
pravity. Sin  dwells  in  them  who  bear  most  of 
their  Saviour's  image,  enjoy  the  largest  share  of 
his  communion,  and  approach  the  nearest  to  his 
perfection.  If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive 
ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us.*  But  this  "  sin 
that  dwelleth  in  them,"  does  not  hinder  them  from 
being  in  soul  and  body,  the  temples  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."\  It  would  be  quite  as  reasonable  to  main- 
tain, that  a  Christian  cannot  be  a  child  of  God 
because  there  is  a  law  in  his  members  warring  against 
the  law  of  his  mind :%  or  that  the  world  is  not 
God's  world  because  the  tumult  of  those  that  rise  up 
against  him  increaseth  continually  ;||  as  to  maintain 
that  a  church  composed  partly  of  converts  and 
partly  of  the  unconverted,  is  not  for  that  reason, 
a  true  nor  a  scriptural  church.  The  neighbour- 
hood and  conflict  of  good  and  evil  in  this  life  is 

*  1  John  i.  8.  %  Rom.  vii.  23. 

f  1  Cor.  vi.  19.  ||  Ps.  lxxiv.  23. 


No.  VI.— Uses.  127 

one  of  those  depths  which  nothing  but  folly  at- 
tempts to  fathom ;  yet  while  the  mystery  is  un- 
searchable, the  doctrine  is  clear,  and  the  fact  no- 
torious. Whoever,  then,  shall  deny  that  God  has 
so  constituted  his  church  here  as  to  include  con- 
cealed enemies  in  the  midst  of  real  friends ;  and 
has  left  no  method  of  drawing,  with  certainty,  the 
line  of  practical  discrimination ;  must  go  further, 
and  deny  that  he  has  so  constituted  his  world  as 
to  admit  the  introduction  of  sin,  and  has  left  no 
method  of  expelling  it :  or  has  so  constituted  the 
plan  of  salvation,  as  to  allow  corrupt  affections 
to  reside  in  the  hallowed  breast,  and  has  left  no 
method  of  extirpating  them.  The  objection  is 
precisely  the  same  in  the  three  cases.  He  who  can 
answer  it  in  one,  can  answer  it  in  all ;  and  he  who 
cannot  answer  it  in  all,  can  answer  it  in  none. 

On  the  other  hand,  whoever  can  find  it  con- 
sistent with  the  divine  perfection,  that  wicked  men 
should  be  in  the  world ;  and  wicked  propensities 
in  the  soul  of  a  believer,  and  yet  the  world  be  ac- 
knowledged by  God  as  his  world,  and  the  believer 
as  his  child ;  will  find  it  equally  consistent  with 
his  perfection  that  servants  of  sin  as  well  as  ser- 
vants of  righteousness  should  belong  to  the  church, 
and  yet  she  be  owned  of  him  as  his  church. 

Nor  will  this  reasoning  operate,  in  the  smallest 
degree,  against  her  sacredness  as  holy  to  the 
Lord ;  nor  impair  our  obligation  to  promote  her 


128  Church  of  God. 

purity;  nor  afford  the  slightest  countenance  to 
careless  admission  into  her  communion,  or  the 
relaxation  of  her  discipline  toward  the  scandalous. 
For  although  God  will  glorify  himself  by  bringing 
good  out  of  evil,  it  is  damnable  in  us  to  "  do  evil 
that  good  may  come."*  And  although  he,  in  that 
sovereignty  which  "  giveth  no  account  of  any  of 
his  matters,"  has  permitted  and  overrules  the  sin 
of  the  creature  for  purposes  worthy  of  himself; 
yet  we  are  not  seated  in  the  throne  of  sovereign- 
ty ;  we  are  under  law ;  and  the  law  of  our  duty  is 
plain,  so  that  "  he  may  run  who  readeth,"  that  we 
are  to  resist,  even  unto  blood,  striving  against  sin.'] 
It  no  more  follows  that  his  church  is  not  to  thrust 
from  her  embrace  the  known  servants  of  sin,  be- 
cause her  vigilance  may  be  eluded  and  her  efforts 
defeated  ;  than  it  follows  that  believers  may  in- 
dulge themselves  in  the  commission  of  sin,  be- 
cause all  their  exertions  will  be  insufficient  to  de- 
stroy it  while  they  are  in  the  body ;  or  than  it 
follows,  that  crimes  are  to  stalk  unquestioned 
through  the  earth,  because  they  cannot  be  entire- 
ly cut  off.  The  more  closely  this  analogy  is 
pressed,  the  more  exactly  will  it  be  found  to  hold. 
And  hence  arises  the  general  reason  why  the 
church  of  God,  according  to  our  principles,  is 
well  and  wisely  constituted — It  is  precisely  adapt- 

*  Rom.  iii.  8.  f  Heb.  xii.  8. 


No.  VI.— Uses.  129 

ed  to  the  state  of  our  world,  and  to  the  course  of 
his  own  dispensations. 

The  analogy  which  we  have  now  pointed  out 
might  convince  the  intelligent  Christian,  and 
silence  the  modest  one.  To  the  former  it  offers 
a  decisive  character  of  truth ;  and  the  latter 
will  ask  no  better  argument  for  the  goodness 
of  a  constitution,  than  it  is  a  constitution  of  God. 
But  we  need  not  rest  the  matter  here.  Without 
prying  into  the  reservations  of  his  wisdom,  we 
may  perceive  some  valuable  ends  to  be  answered 
by  the  mixed  state  of  his  church. 

1.  It  reduces  the  quantity  of  actual  sin. 

We  cannot  too  deeply  deplore  the  fact  that 

many  "  have  a  name  to  live  and  are  dead."  They 

are  numbered  with  the  people  of  God.     Their 

reputation  among  their  fellow  professors  is  pure. 

Yet  they  have  not  "  passed  from  death  unto  life." 

A  terrible  condition,  no  doubt ;  and  a  preparation 

for  a  terrible  doom.     But  let  us  consider  what 

would  be  the   effect  if  all  those  sins  should  be 

disclosed  in  this  world  which  shall  be  disclosed 

when  the  "  secrets  of  all  hearts  shall  be  made 

manifest."     Or,  if  this  be  too  strong;  what  would 

be  the  effect,  should  those  corruptions  which  are 

not  subdued  by  divine  grace,  be  set  free  from  the 

restraints  supplied  through  the  external  church. 

Could  you  unmask  the  hypocrite,  and  throw  him 

at  once  out  of  your  fellowship,  and  confidence,  ail 
Vol.  IV.  17 


130  Church  of  God. 

the  motives  and  influence  which  serve  to  curb  his 
lusts,  and  limit  their  mischief,  would  cease  to 
operate ;  and  that  fountain  of  iniquity  which  is 
now  shut  up  in  darkness  would  break  out  into 
open  day,  and  pour  its  poisonous  streams  in  every 
direction.  It  is  impossible  to  conjecture  how  far 
the  law  of  God's  house,  and  liberal  intercourse 
with  his  people,  frustrate  the  worst  designs  of  hell 
by  shackling  the  depravity  of  its  servants.  Some, 
perhaps,  may  contend  that  it  were  better  to  see 
every  bad  man  in  his  own  colours,  that  we  might 
completely  "  purge  out  the  old  leaven."  Their 
zeal  is  not  according  to  knowledge — They  inad- 
vertently reproach  the  wisdom  of  God,  who  does 
not  permit  such  a  discovery  to  be  made.  And 
what  would  they  have  ?  Would  it  be  better  that 
an  enemy  to  God  should  give  scope  to  his  enmity, 
and  spread  infection  and  death  all  around  him, 
than  that  the  repression  of  it  should  tie  up  his 
hands,  and  render  him  comparatively  harmless  ? 
Would  it  be  better  that  he  should  blaspheme  the 
name  of  God,  than  that  he  should  treat  it  with 
external  reverence  ?  Better,  to  set  before  his 
children  or  companions  an  example  of  hideous 
profligacy,  than  an  example  of  decorum  !  to  teach 
them  to  swear,  steal,  lie,  profane  the  sabbath, 
deride  their  bible,  mock  the  ordinances  of  reli- 
gion, than  to  inculcate  upon  them  lessons  of  truth, 
of  probity,  of  respect  to  the  name,  the  day,  the 


No.  VI.— Cm*.  131 

word,  and  the  worship  of  God  !  Go  a  step  further, 
and  say  that  it  would  be  better  to  lay  aside  all 
the  control  of  civil  government,  and  let  loose  the 
myriads  of  rogues  and  traitors  whom  the  com- 
munity unwittingly  cherishes  in  her  bosom,  than 
to  keep  them  under  the  salutary  awe  of  the  tribu- 
nals of  Justice,  of  the  dungeon  and  the  halter. 

Besides,  men  who  only  profess  religion,  while 
they  are  strangers  to  its  power,  have  much  more 
extensive  connexions  with  those  who  profess 
none,  than  real  Christians  can  or  ought  to  have. 
There  is  not  that  mutual  repugnance  which  ren- 
ders society  reserved  and  suspicious ;  and  thus 
they  become  a  medium  of  transmitting  the  moral 
influence  of  the  gospel  to  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  who  yield  no  intentional  obedience  to 
its  authority.  Real  Christians  act  directly  upon 
professed  ones ;  and  these,  again,  upon  men  who 
make  no  profession  at  all ;  and  thus,  through  an 
infinite  number  of  channels  unnoticed  and  un- 
known, Christianity  streams  its  influence  over  hu- 
man Society  ;  gives  a  tone  to  public  opinion,  and 
a  purity  to  public  and  individual  manners,  which 
are  derivable  from  no  other  source.  The  very 
infidel  is  by  this  means  instructed  in  all  the  truth 
he  knows.  He  has  an  impulse  given  to  his  facul- 
ties ;  a  check  to  his  passions  5  and  a  rein  to  his 
actions,  of  which  he  is  unconscious.  But  if  you 
could  turn  out  of  the  church  all  who  are  not  heirs 


132  Church  of  God. 

according  to  the  promise  of  eternal  life,  you  would, 
in  a  great  measure,  defeat  the  benign  influence  of 
the  gospel  upon  the  civil  community  j  because 
you  would  destroy  many  points  of  their  contract, 
and  remove  thousands  altogether  from  its  sphere 
of  action ;  or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  contract 
the  sphere  so  as  to  leave  out  thousands  who  are 
now  within  it.  Admitting,  then,  without  scruple, 
the  just  cause  of  grief  which  is  afforded  by  the 
Canaanite's  being  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  we 
are  consoled  with  observing  how  he  brings  good 
out  of  evil.  Satan  thrusts  himself  and  his  accom- 
plices into  the  assembly  of  the  saints  ;  and  God 
converts  the  intrusion  into  a  chain  for  them  both. 
Thus  the  visible  church,  composed  of  believers 
and  hypocrites,  effects,  by  this  very  principle,  an 
incalculable  diminution  of  the  actual  sin  which 
would  otherwise  be  in  the  world. 

2.  It  diminishes  the  misery  of  human  life. 

This  is  a  direct  consequence  of  prevented  sin. 
For  in  proportion  as  the  laws  of  God  are  violated, 
is  the  aggregate  suffering  of  the  community  in- 
creased :  and  in  proportion  as  they  are  respected, 
is  its  character  amiable,  and  its  condition  pros- 
perous. Who  can  doubt,  even  for  a  moment,  that 
the  abandonment  of  all  nominal  Christians  to  the 
unsanctified  propensities  of  their  nature,  would 
multiply  crimes  and  accelerate  individual  and  pub- 
lic ruin  ?  And  who  can  doubt,  that  the  check  im- 


No.  VI.— Uses.  133 

posed  on  these  propensities  by  an  outward  pro- 
fession of  the  cross  of  Christ,  averts  calamity 
which  would  otherwise  be  both  certain  and  se- 
vere ?  Let  us  not  overlook  the  immense  difference 
between  temporal  and  eternal  good;  and  between 
the  means  by  which  they  are  respectively  pro- 
cured. The  religion  which  will  not  save  a  soul 
from  hell,  may  yet  save  a  nation  from  destruction. 
It  is  only  upon  gross  transgression,  freely  and  ob- 
stinately committed,  that  God  inflicts  those  evils 
which  he  calls  "  his  judgments."  There  may  be 
much  secret  impiety;  much  smothered  opposition 
to  his  government,  but  it  must  break  out ;  must 
become  flagrant ;  must  resist  the  milder  correc- 
tives, before  he  "  arise  to  shake  terribly  the  earth." 
It  is  for  no  small  provocation  that  he  "  bathes  his 
sword  in  heaven ;"  nor  is  it  easy  for  a  people  to 
"  fill  their  cup."  He  may  visit ;  he  may  chastise; 
always,  however,  for  open  sin.  But  the  cry  for 
vengeance  must  be  loud  and  long  before  he  re- 
sign a  land  to  desolation,  and  mark  it  so  irrever- 
sibly for  his  curse,  that  though  JVoah,  Daniel,  and 
Job  were  in  it,  they  should  deliver  neither  son  nor 
daughter  ;  but  merely  their  own  souls  by  their  right- 
eousness ;#  and  though  Moses  and  Samuel  stood  be- 
fore him,  his  mind  could  not  be  toward  it.\  We  are 
not  unaccustomed  to  the  clamour  which  some, 
who  know  not  what  they  say,  nor  whereof  they  affirm, 
*  Ezek.  xiv.  f  Jerem.  xv. 


134  Church  of  God. 

and  yet  desire  to  be  teachers  of  the  law,  raise  against 
this  doctrine,  as  calculated  to  feed  the  pride  of 
self-righteousness ;  to  spread  Arminianism ;  to 
disparage  the  grace  and  merit  of  Christ;  and 
other  things  of  the  same  sort.  But  there  is  a  pride 
which  needs  mortification  as  much  as  any  other, 
although  it  escapes  their  notice;  and  that  is,  the 
pride  of  conceited  ignorance.  Little  as  we  in- 
cline to  flatter  vanity,  we  shall  not  attack  it  upon 
principles  which  would  prostrate  along  with  it  the 
righteousness  of  God,  and  cover  the  pages  of  his 
blessed  word  with  contradictions  and  lies.  We 
hold  it  to  be  a  maxim  almost  self-evident,  that 
abounding  and  impudent  wickedness  will  bring 
more  wrath,  and  therefore  more  misery,  upon  a 
land,  than  wickedness  shut  up  in  the  bosom,  or 
driven,  by  the  commanding  aspect  of  truth,  into 
secret  corners.  If  our  citizens,  who  are  perpetu- 
ally praising  Christianity,  and  perpetually  insult- 
ing it,  were  to  yield  a  decent  deference  to  its  au- 
thority— if  our  magistrates,  instead  of  sacrificing 
their  allegiance  to  God,  whose  ministers  they  are,* 
on  the  altar  of  a  wretched  and  fickle  popularity, 
were  to  become  a  more  steady  and  uniform  "  ter- 
rour  to  evil  doers,  "the  storm  which  blackens  over 
our  trembling  country  would  be  dissipated ;  and 
the  smiling  skies  invite  every  man  to  resume  his 
seat  "  under  his  vine  and  under  his  fig-tree." 

*  Rom.  xiii. 


No.  VI.— Uses.  135 

The  preventing  of  sin,  then,  being  a  prevention 
of  misery,  the  world  owes  much  of  its  freedom 
from  misery  to  the  influence  of  the  visible  church, 
constituted  as  it  is,  in  restraining  sin — more,  much 
more,  than  it  would  owe  to  such  a  constitution  as 
would  exclude  all  nominal  Christians ;  the  num- 
ber of  them  who  are  reconciled  to  God  by  the 
death  of  his  son,  remaining  the  same.  We  say 
the  number  of  unconverted  remaining  the  same. 
For  it  cannot  be  doubted,  that  as  two  real  Chris- 
tians are  better  and  more  useful  than  one  real  and 
one  apparent  Christian;  so  the  two  latter  are  much 
better  and  more  useful  than  one  real  Christian, 
and  one  openly  wicked  man.  And  as,  for  the 
same  reason,  it  would  be  infinitely  more  desirable, 
that  the  whole  world  should  be  in  the  church,  and 
the  whole  church  converted,  than  that  there  should 
be  a  mixture  of  clean  and  unclean  in  her  commu- 
nion ;  so  it  is  infinitely  more  desirable,  and  more 
conducive  to  peace  and  happiness,  that  while  this 
purity  is  unattainable,  the  appearance  of  godli- 
ness in  those  who  have  none,  should  encourage 
the  hearts  and  strengthen  the  hands  of  those  who 
have  it ;  and  thus  hypocrisy  concur  with  sin- 
cerity in  causing  "  iniquity,  as  ashamed,  to  hide 
her  head." 

There  is  another  view  of  this  point  which 
comes  home  to  the  heart.  To  that  question 
"  Why  must  believers  die  ?"     The  following  an- 


136  Church  of  God. 

swer  among  others,  has  been  returned.  If  be- 
lievers were  exempted  from  the  common  mortali- 
ty ;  if,  like  Enoch  and  Elijah,  they  should  go  to 
heaven  without  "  putting  off  their  tabernacle," 
then  Death  would  reveal  the  secrets  of  the  eter- 
nal world  It  would  be  known  by  the  very  man- 
ner of  his  departing  hence,  whether  an  individual 
was  saved  or  lost.  What  anguish,  what  horrour, 
what  distraction,  would  fill  the  souls  and  the  fa- 
milies of  God's  dear  children;  to  be  assured,  by 
the  simple  fact  of  a  friend  or  kinsman's  dying,  that 
he  was  gone  to  hell !  But  would  not  the  very 
same  effect  be  produced,  were  all  unbelievers 
shut  out  of  the  church  ?  The  mere  circumstance 
of  their  exclusion  would  prove  their  unbelief ;  and 
their  death  in  unbelief,  would  prove  that  they  had 
perished.  The  tender  mercies  of  God  relieve  his 
people  from  an  intolerable  load  of  suffering,  by 
subjecting  them,  in  common  with  others,  to  the 
decree  of  death.  And  that  constitution  of  his 
visible  church,  which,  by  admitting  members 
upon  external  evidence,  admits  hypocrites  as  well 
as  the  sincere,  is  a  necessary  counterpart,  to  the 
law  of  death.  Visible  departure  from  the  world, 
whether  into  his  church  or  into  eternity,  lies 
through  an  entrance  which  God  has  so  construct- 
ed, that  any  farther  than  a  judgment  may  be 
formed  from  external  evidence,  he  alone  "  know- 
eth  them  that  are  his."     Both  are  provisions  of 


No.  VI.— Uses.  137 

one  gracious  system.  They,  therefore,  who 
would  so  model  the  Christian  church  as  to  keep 
or  to  expel  from  her  communion,  all  ungodly  men 
who  do  not  show  themselves  to  be  such  by  their 
ungodly  principles  or  deeds,  are  labouring  to  de- 
feat the  mercy  displayed  in  the  death  of  a  be- 
liever, and  to  wring  his  heart  with  agony  during 
the  whole  period  of  his  life.  Eternal  thanks  to 
the  divine  compassions  !  They  cannot  succeed. 
The  counsel  of  the  Lord  is  against  them  ;  and 
"  the  counsel  of  the  Lord,  that  shall  stand." 

3.  The  mixed  character  of  the  church  contri- 
butes directly  to  her  prosperity.     It  does  so, 

By  extending  her  resources  : 

By  increasing  her  numbers  : 

By  affording  protection. 

First,  The  resources  of  the  church,  we  mean 
her  outward  resources,  are  extended  by  her  pre- 
sent constitution.  These,  in  general,  are  pecuniary 
aid,  and  the  aid  of  talents. 

It  is  evident,  that  all  those  means  by  which  the 
gospel  is  supported  and  propagated,  are  not  fur- 
nished by  real  Christians  ;  and  equally  evident 
that  the  whole  supply  is  very  scanty.  If  you  should 
deduct  the  part  which  comes  from  the  pockets  of 
unconverted  men,  the  balance  would  not  preserve 
Christianity  from  being  starved  out  of  the  world. 
Indeed,  from  the   wretched  provision  which  is 

commonly  made  for  her  maintenance,  one  might 

Vol.  IV.  18 


138  Church  of  God. 

conclude,  with  little  offence  against  charity,  that 
the  great  majority  of  professed  Christians,  are  not 
unwilling  to  try  how  far  this  experiment  of  starv- 
ing may  prove  successful.  That  is  their  sin,  and 
it  shall  be  their  punishment.  Let  them  think  of 
it  in  those  moments  when  they  recollect  that  they 
are  as  accountable  for  the  use  of  their  property, 
as  for  the  use  of  their  liberty  :  and  that  there  is 
to  be  a  day  of  reckoning,  in  which  no  robbers 
shall  appear  to  less  advantage,  or  be  treated  with 
less  indulgence,  than  those,  who  in  this  life,  have 
«  robbed  God."* 

But  small  as  the  encouragement  is  for  any,  who 
by  following  another  honest  calling,  can  procure 
a  tolerable  livelihood,  and  lay  up  even  a  little  for 
their  families,  to  devote  themselves  to  the  re- 
ligious welfare  of  society,  it  would  be  much 
smaller  were  none  to  be  accounted  Christians 
here,  who  shall  not  be  accounted  such  hereafter. 
Go,  with  the  power  of  detecting  hypocrisy ;  cast 
out  of  the  church,  all  whose  fellowship  is  not 
"  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ." 
And  your  next  step  must  be  to  nail  up  the  doors 
of  our  places  of  worship.  We  are  in  the  habit  of 
praying  that  the  Lord,  who  has  declared  that 
"  the  silver  is  his,  and  the  gold  is  his,"  would  in- 
fluence the  hearts  of  the  opulent  to  bring  their 
offerings  into  his  courts  :  We  thank  him,  when, 

*  Mai.  iii.  8,  9. 


No.  VI.— Uses.  139 

in  a  manner  somewhat  uncommon,  he  hears  our 
prayers,  and  sends  the  bounty ;  and  yet  we  over- 
look the  daily  occurrence  of  this  very  thing  which 
is  the  object  of  our  petitions  and  of  our  grati- 
tude !  He  has  incorporated  the  principle  in  the 
frame  of  his  visible  church,  and  it  operates  with 
regular,  though  silent,  efficacy.  But  if  all  who 
appear  to  be  Christians,  and  are  not,  were  ex- 
cluded, the  effect  must  be  to  diminish,  in  a  most 
distressing  degree,  the  actual  pecuniary  resources 
of  the  church.  For  men  who  are  marked  as  ene- 
mies, will  never  lend  her  the  same  aid  as  men 
who  are  supposed  to  be  friends.  And  thus  the 
absolute  purification  of  the  church  upon  earth, 
would  overthrow  the  plan  which  the  wisdom  of 
God  has  devised,  to  cause  his  very  foes  to  assess 
their  own  purses  in  carrying  on  that  dispensation 
of  grace  which,  at  heart,  they  do  not  love;  and 
which,  if  left  to  themselves,  they  would  resist 
with  all  their  might. 

The  same  reason  applies  to  talent. 

Revelation  is  never  more  completely  robed  in 
light,  than  when  she  is  brought  fairly  and  fully  to 
the  bar  of  evidence.  The  attacks  of  infidels 
have  furnished  her  friends  with  both  opportunities 
and  incitements  to  dispel  the  mist  by  which  she 
has  been  occasionally  or  partially  obscured  ;  and 
she  has  gone  forth  "  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the 
sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners." 


140  Church  of  God. 

What  is  true  of  Christianity  in  general,  is  equal 
ly  true  of  its  peculiar  doctrines.  The  more  rigid- 
ly they  are  examined,  the  more  worthy  do  they 
appear  of  God;  the  more  perfectly  adapted  to  the 
condition  of  man;  the  more  consistent  with  each 
other,  with  the  lights  of  pure  philosophy,  and  the 
discoveries  of  real  science. 

But  these  results  which  have  shed,  and  are 
shedding,  their  lustre  upon  the  evangelical  sys- 
tem, combine  the  researches  of  the  ablest  men 
in  the  most*  literary  periods  of  the  world.  There 
is  no  department  of  human  knowledge  which  God 
has  not  laid  under  tribute  to  his  word.  Linguists, 
mathematicians,  astronomers,  botanists,  mineral- 
ogists ;  chymistry,  physiology,  and  medicine  ;  the 
antiquarian,  the  traveller,  the  natural,  civil,  and 
ecclesiastical  historian;  commerce,  agriculture, 
mechanics,  and  the  fine  arts — are  all  to  be  found 
waiting  at  the  temple  of  God,  opening  their  trea- 
sures, and  presenting  their  gifts.  Whoever  has 
the  least  acquaintance  with  things  older  than 
himself,  and  without  the  petty  circle  of  his  per- 
sonal agency,  knows  that  the  mass  of  all  valuable 
learning,  since  the  introduction  of  Christianity, 
ever  has  been,  and  is  yet,  in  the  hands  of  professed 
Christians.  They  have  employed  it  in  her  de- 
fence, to  an  extent  and  with  an  effect  of  which 
thousands,  who  are  now  reaping  the  benefits  of 
their  eflforts,  can  have  no  possible  conception. 


No.  VI.— Uses.  141 

Yet,  certainly,  among  those  who  have  thus  forti- 
fied the  citadel  of  truth,  many  were  believers  in 
name  only,  and  never  tasted  the  salvation  to  the 
influence  of  which  they  contributed.  "  How  much 
better,"  you  will  exclaim,  "  had  they  loved  the 
Redeemer  not  in  name  only,  but  in  deed  and  in 
truth  ["  How  much  better  indeed  !  But  how 
much  worse,  we  rejoin,  had  they  sided  with  his 
open  enemies,  and  levelled  against  his  word,  all 
that  artillery  which  they  employed  for  it.  And 
that  such  would  have  been  the  consequence 
had  none  been  admitted  into  his  church,  who 
were  not  partakers  of  his  grace,  is  as  evident, 
as  that  a  cause,  left  to  its  own  operation,  will 
produce  its  proper  effect.  We  are  well  appri- 
sed of  the  contempt  which  some  men  affect 
to  heap  upon  human  learning.  And  we  are 
equally  well  apprised  that  in  this  their  hostility 
their  ignorance  and  vain  glory  have  at  least  as 
large  a  share  as  their  spirituality  of  mind.  Nor 
are  we  regardless  of  the  mischief  which  "  unsanc- 
tified  learning"  has  done  in  the  church  of  God ; 
and  of  the  jealousy  with  which,  on  that  account, 
many  serious  people  look  upon  learned  men.  But 
why  ?  Shall  we  never  distinguish  between  use  and 
abuse  ?  Learning  is  good  in  itself.  The  evil  lies 
not  in  its  nature,  but  in  its  application.  Because 
some  have  prostituted  their  learning  to  per- 
vert the  truth  and  institutions  of  our  Lord  Jesus 


142  Church  of  God. 

Christ,  shall  we  not  accept  the  aid  of  the  same 
weapon,  rightfully  used,  to  vindicate  them  ?  Shall 
we  commit  them  to  the  illiterate  and  the  stupid, 
in  expectation  of  miracles  to  elicit  wisdom  from 
the  mouth  of  folly  ?  and  bribe  letters  and  genius 
to  enlist  themselves  in  the  service  of  the  devil  ? 
The  very  same  objection  strikes  at  wealth,  at 
strength;  at  every  power,  moral  and  physical, 
which  God  has  seen  fit  to  create.  Because 
"  unsanctified"  opulence  has  spread  corruption 
through  Christian  communities,  is  it  desirable  that 
all  Christians  be  beggars  ?  Because  strong  men, 
if  they  be  of  quarrelsome  temper,  may  keep  a 
whole  neighbourhood  under  the  terrours  of  assault 
and  battery,  would  it  therefore  be  desirable  that 
all  Christians  should  be  pigmies  ?  It  is  the  nature 
of  every  thing  to  work  harm  when  misdirected,  in 
exact  proportion  to  its  power  of  working  good 
when  directed  well.  This  is  a  law  of  God's  own 
enacting  :  and  is  one  of  the  means  by  which  he 
makes  sin  to  punish  itself.  Therefore,  to  reject 
a  potent  agency  because  its  perversion  will  in- 
volve calamity  proportioned  to  its  vigour,  is  the 
very  rectified  spirit  of  absurdity.  Carry  your  prin- 
ciple through ;  and  tell  your  maker  that  he  did  a 
foolish  thing  in  creating  angels,  because  such  of 
them  as,  by  their  fall,  have  become  devils,  can  do 
infinitely  more  mischief  than  if  they  had  been 
men  !     No — Let    us    put    away  these   childish 


No.  VI.— Uses.  143 

things.  If  unconverted  men  get  into  the  church 
under  the  cloak  of  a  credible  profession ;  if  they 
remain  there  undetected  ;  if  they  bring  their 
wealth  and  their  talent  to  the  support  of  the  Chris- 
tian cause,  let  us  accept  the  boon  with  all  thank- 
fulness. It  is  so  much  of  the  arm  of  iniquity 
palsied ;  nay,  more,  it  is  so  much  clear  gain  from 
the  interests  of  hell  to  the  comforter  of  the  church 
of  God.  If  the  gospel  is  to  be  maintained,  or  a 
starving  disciple  to  be  fed,  it  will  make  no  diffe- 
rence in  the  market  whether  the  dollar  was  given 
by  a  hypocrite  or  a  believer.  And  if  the  bible  be 
happily  illustrated ;  or  its  adversaries  victoriously 
encountered,  the  truth  is  still  the  same,  whether 
the  talent  which  demonstrates  it  be  connected 
with  the  spirit  of  faith  or  the  heart  of  unbelief. 
The  excess  of  these  two  benefits  over  and  above 
what  could  be  performed  by  Christians  alone,  is 
the  advantage,  in  point  of  resource,  which  the 
church  derives  from  her  present  constitution,  over 
and  above  that  which  she  would  enjoy  were  none 
to  enter  into  her  communion  but  true  converts. 

The  second  way  in  which  the  mixed  character 
of  the  visible  church  contributes  directly  to  her 
prosperity,  is  by  increasing  her  numbers. 

The  gospel  is  the  great  means  of  turning  men 
from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan 
unto  God.  For  this  purpose  it  is  necessary  that 
they  and  it  should  meet.     How  shall  they  call  on 


144  Church  of  God. 

him  in  whom  they  have  not  believed?  And  how  shall 
they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard? 
And  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher?*  What- 
ever brings  sinners  within  the  reach  of  the  means 
of  salvation,  and  places  them  under  the  "  joyful 
sound,"  puts  them  into  the  way  in  which  alone 
they  have  a  right  to  expect  the  pardoning  and  the 
renewing  mercy  of  their  God.  Let  it,  then,  be 
considered,  how  many  members  of  the  external 
church  have  remained  for  years  in  their  habit  of 
decent  but  unprofitable  attendance  upon  the  pub- 
lic worship  of  God,  and  have  at  last  been  arrest- 
ed by  his  grace,  and  made  heirs  according  to  the 
hope  of  eternal  life.  "  Their  number,"  it  may  be 
objected,  "  is  smaller  than  we  suppose;  and  forms 
too  inconsiderable  a  portion  of  the  saved  to  have 
any  weight  in  the  argument." 

We  believe  this,  upon  the  whole,  to  be  true.  It 
was  long  ago  observed,  and  the  observation  ought 
to  sink  down  into  the  hearts  of  both  the  old  and 
young  professor,  that  where  the  gospel  is  enjoyed 
in  its  purity,  it  is  the  ordinary  method  of  provi- 
dence to  call  sinners  into  the  fellowship  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  days  of  their  youth.  Among  those 
who  have  enjoyed  from  their  childhood  the  benefit 
of  religious  instruction,  of  holy  example,  of  sound 
and  faithful  ministrations,  the  instances  of  conver- 
sion after  middle  life,  are,  for  the  most  part,  ex- 
*Rom.  x.  14. 


No.  VI.— Uses.  145 

tremely  rare.  Let  the  aged  Christian  run  over, 
in  his  mind,  such  of  these  instances  as  have  come 
within  his  own  knowledge,  and  we  shall  be  much 
deceived  if  his  list  be  not  very  short.  Yet  small 
as  is  their  relative  number,  their  amount,  abso- 
lutely taken,  is  not  contemptible.  But  had  a 
power  of  judging  the  state  of  the  soul  before  God, 
from  other  than  external  evidence,  been  the  rule 
of  admission  into  his  church,  who  can  doubt  that 
the  rejection  of  these  members  would  have 
banished  the  most  of  them  from  his  sanctuary  al- 
together, and  left  them  to  perish  in  their  iniquity. 
It  is  vain  to  reply  that  "  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that 
are  his,  and  will  take  care  that  none  of  them  be 
lost."  He  does  know  them :  he  will  take  care  that 
none  of  them  be  lost;  but  he  will  reveal  his 
knowledge  and  exercise  his  care,  by  the  interven- 
tion of  means  :  and  the  admission  of  members 
into  his  church  upon  external  evidence  only,  ap- 
pears, from  the  nature  of  the  thing,  and  is  proved 
by  the  event,  to  be  one  of  his  means. 

The  operation,  however,  of  this  cause  of  her  in- 
crease, is  not  confined  to  the  persons  of  late  con- 
verts :  nor  would  our  argument  be  much  affected, 
were  they  still  fewer,  or  were  there  none  at  all. 
Thousands,  who  have  the  form  of  godliness  without 
the  power,  and  who  die  as  they  live,  in  the  gall  of 
bitterness  and  the  bond  of  iniquity,  are  heads  of  fa- 
milies.    By  their  authority  and  example,  children, 

Vol.  IV.  !9 


146  Church  of  God. 

apprentices,  servants,  who,  otherwise,  would  rove 
unrestrained  like  the  wild  asses  colt,  are  kept  from 
much  gross  and  open  wickedness  :  they  learn  to 
respect  the  sabbath  day ;  they  come  under  Chris- 
tian instruction  ;  they  attend  the  institutions  of 
public  worship ;  to  multitudes  of  them  God  blesses 
his  own  ordinances  for  their  eternal  life.  And 
thus,  while  the  parent  or  the  master  dies  in  his 
sin,  the  child,  the  apprentice,  or  the  servant,  led 
by  his  own  hand  to  the  religious  precept  and  the 
house  of  prayer,  becomes  an  heir  of  God,  and  a  fel- 
low heir  with  Christ  in  glory.  Nay,  individuals 
without  families,  are  often  the  unconscious  instru- 
ments of  salvation  to  others.  No  human  being  is 
so  poor  as  not  to  have  an  acquaintance.  We 
know  it  to  be  a  principle  in  human  nature,  that 
men  love  to  draw  their  friends  into  connexions 
with  which  they  themselves  are  pleased.  It  is  a 
necessary  effect  of  man's  social  character ;  and  is 
no  where  more  regular  and  extensive  than  in  his 
religious  associations.  Many  causes  beside,  and 
without,  conversion  from  sin  to  God,  render  men 
zealous  in  promoting  the  credit  and  prosperity- of 
their  respective  churches.  The  prejudice  of  birth, 
the  force  of  habit,  the  preference  of  judgment,  at- 
tachment to  a  particular  minister  or  circle  of 
friends,  engage  much  warm  and  active  patronage 
to  ecclesiastical  bodies.  One  companion  brings 
another ;  that  one  a  third ;    and  thus,  by  a  most 


No.  VL—Uses.  147 

complicated  system  of  individual  action  and  re- 
action, great  multitudes  are  assembled  in  the 
house  of  God,  who  otherwise  would  never  cross 
its  threshold.  Sometimes  a  person,  induced  by 
the  persuasion  of  another  to  hear  a  certain 
preacher,  or  occupy  a  seat  in  a  certain  church, 
has  been  awakened  to  a  sense  of  eternal  things ; 
has  been  "  translated  into  the  kingdom  of  God's 
dear  Son ;"  and  sealed  up  by  the  holy  spirit  of 
promise,  unto  the  day  of  redemption,"  when  his 
persuader  has  remained  unmoved,  or  even  thrown 
away  his  profession,  and  turned  an  open  repro- 
bate. 

Withdraw,  then,  all  the  families  of  nominal 
Christians,  and  all  their  acquaintances  whom  they 
allure  to  the  public  ordinances — withdraw  the  ac- 
quaintances of  single  men  and  women,  especially 
those  in  younger  life,  and  after  you  have  made 
the  deduction,  look  at  your  places  of  worship ! 
Whole  rows  of  seats  which  were  filled  with 
persons  of  decent,  respectful,  and  even  serious 
deportment,  are  empty.  The  greater  part  of  those 
from  whom  converts  were  to  be  drawn  to  replace 
dying  believers,  and  perpetuate  the  knowledge  of 
Jesus  and  the  resurrection,  is  gone.  The  church 
has  lost  one  of  her  chief  holds  upon  the  world : 
she  has  closed  up  a  wide  door  of  her  own  access 
to  unbelievers  ;  and  has  actually  banished  them, 
by  hundreds,  from  the  mercy-seat. 


148  Church  of  God. 

There  is  an  exception  to  this  reasoning  too  ob- 
vious and  plausible  to  pass  unnoticed. 

"  Facts  appear  to  be  against  us.  Who  com- 
posed the  audiences  of  the  apostles  ?  Who  flock- 
ed to  the  sound  of  the  evangelical  trumpet,  at  the 
blessed  reformation  from  popery  ?  What  is,  at 
this  day,  the  most  successful  method  of  crowding 
the  churches,  even  with  those  who  do  not  so  much 
as  profess  t6  be  religious  ?  Is  it  not  the  plain  and 
undisguised  declaration  of  that  very  gospel  which, 
it  is  said,  the  people  will  not  hear  without  the  help 
of  hypocrites  to  bring  them.  If  you  want  to  emp- 
ty a  place  of  worship,  court  your  Christians  in 
name  only ;  let  nothing  be  done  to  shock  their 
prejudices  or  alarm  their  pride.  If  you  want  to 
fill  a  place  of  worship,  know  nothing  in  your  minis- 
trations but  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified.'1'1 

A  mistake  is  never  so  imposing  as  when  it  mis- 
applies undoubted  truths.  We  admit  all  the  facts 
here  stated,  but  cannot  see  how  they  .invalidate 
our  reasoning.  Bepause  they  have  occurred  in 
the  history  of  the  church,  so  conducted  as  not  to 
exclude  the  secret  deceiver.  Her  character  has 
always  been  mixed.  The  pretensions  of  some 
men  to  purify  her  in  such  a  manner  as  to  admit 
only  genuine  converts,  are  vanity  and  wind.  They 
never  did,  they  never  can,  it  is  impossible,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  they  ever  should,  act  upon  other 
than  external  evidence,  if  they  act  upon  evidence 


No.  VI. — Uses.  149 

at  all.  Could  a  method  be  devised  of  distinguish- 
ing the  real  from  the  apparent  Christian,  not  only 
would  it  cease  to  be  the  Lord's  prerogative  "  to 
know  them  that  are  his;"  but  the  whole  com- 
plexion and  character  of  his  church  would  be  al- 
tered. She  would  be  another  church  altogether  from 
what  he  has  made  her.  And  since  he  has  adapted 
the  tenour  of  his  providence,  and  the  influences  of 
his  grace,  to  her  actual  constitution,  it  is  idle  to 
imagine  that  the  course  of  events  which  is  con- 
nected with  her  present  constitution,  would  attend 
her  under  a  constitution  essentially  different.  The 
church,  framed  as  some  good  men  would  have 
her,  not  only  never  existed,  but,  for  aught  they 
can  show,  would  be  utterly  unfit  for  this  world  of 
ours  ;  and  would  utterly  fail  of  accomplishing  her 
ends.  Nor  can  they  assign  any  tolerable  reason 
for  a  belief  that  of  all  the  effects  which  now  flow 
from  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  a  single  one 
would  be  produced  upon  a  change  of  the  system. 

An  advantage,  therefore,  and  not  a  small  one, 
of  the  mixed  condition  of  the  church  is,  that  it 
collects  within  her  pale,  and  introduces  to  her  or- 
dinances, multitudes  who  otherwise  would  remain 
"without,"  but,  now,  "shall  be  heirs  of  salvation." 

A  third  benefit  directly  arising  from  the  mixed 
condition  of  the  church,  is  protection. 

In  times  of  affliction,  the  witnesses  for  truth  are 
often  more,  and  in  the  times  of  prosperity  fewer, 


150  Church  of  God. 

than  they  are  supposed  to  be.  Could  the  line  be 
accurately  drawn  between  sound  and  unsound 
professors,  the  former  would  frequently  find  them- 
selves in  a  very  small  minority.  Such  a  disclo- 
sure would  not  only  dispirit  their  minds  and  re- 
press their  exertions,  but  subject  them  to  taunt, 
to  insult,  and  to  oppression.  We  must  bear  in 
remembrance  that  the  "  world  which  lieth  in  wick- 
edness," never  wants  the  inclination  to  persecute 
them  who  are  "  chosen  out  of  it."  The  computed 
number  of  Christians  serves  to  check  that  inclina- 
tion ;  and  it  is  often  checked  so  effectually  that 
its  existence  is  denied ;  and  Christians  themselves 
are  half  persuaded,  that  the  world  is  less  hostile 
to  them  and  their  master  than  in  the  days  of 
primitive  peril.  But  could  they  be  distinctively 
pointed  out,  this  erring  charity  of  theirs  would 
get  its  rebuke  in  their  ruin.  The  fire  would  feed 
upon  their  flesh,  and  scaffolds  stream  with  their 
blood,  at  the  instance,  and  by  the  agency,  of  many 
who  now  treat  them  with  civility  and  respect.  Set 
them  up  as  a  mark,  by  exposing  their  weakness, 
and  nothing  short  of  a  perpetual  miracle  would 
hinder  "  the  men  of  the  earth"  from  exterminating 
them  at  a  stroke,  and,  with  them,  the  church  of 
the  living  God. 

But  as  the  case  stands,  his  overruling  provi 
dence  uses  the  nominal,  for  a  shield  to  the  real, 
Christian.     Apparent  believers  occupy  a  middle 


No.  VI.— Uses.  151 

ground  between  the  church  of  the  redeemed  and 
the  world  which  knows  not  God.  Belonging  in 
pretence  to  the  one,  and  in  fact  to  the  other,  they 
interpose  a  medium  between  the  two,  which  often 
prevents  a  destructive  contact. 

The  malice  of  the  persecutor  sleeps,  and  his 
arm  is  idle,  from  the  difficulty  of  selecting  his  vic- 
tim and  pointing  his  blow.  Were  he  to  strike  at 
random,  he  would  smite  those  whom  he  wishes 
to  spare,  and  miss  those  whom  he  wishes  to  smite. 
Thus  there  is  a  secret,  and  silent,  but  real  and  ef- 
fective, alliance  between  unconverted  men  in  the 
church  and  out  of  it,  which  the  controlling  hand 
of  God  makes  to  subserve  the  safety  and  comfort 
of  his  own  people. 

Such  are  some  of  the  ends,  "  holy,  just,  and 
good,"  which  we,  circumscribed  as  is  our  know- 
ledge of  the  ways  of  God,  can  perceive  to  be  ac- 
complished by  the  mixed  condition  of  his  church. 
That  there  are  no  others  most  worthy  of  his  wis- 
dom, though  infinitely  above  the  reach  of  ours,  no- 
thing but  inebriating  folly  will  dare  to  pronounce. 
What  ultimate  relations  his  church  may  have  to 
his  universal  kingdom,  it  were  impertinent,  if 
not  profane,  so  much  as  to  conjecture.  Suffice  it 
that  while  every  step  of  our  progress  enjoins  so- 
briety of  thought ;  restrains  the  indiscretion  of 
zeal;    and  rebukes  the  spirit  of  intrusive  igno- 


152  Church  of  God. 

ranee ;  enough  is  discovered  to  remove  the  mo- 
dest scruple,  and  satisfy  the  reverential  inquiry. 

In  a  preceding  part  of  this  discussion,  we  con- 
tracted an  engagement  which  we  shall  here  fulfil. 

To  our  doctrine  which  unequivocally  admits  that 
the  visible  church  is  so  constituted  as  to  contain 
a  mixture  of  good  men  and  bad,  without  any 
means  of  distinguishing,  precisely,  the  one  from 
the  other ;.  and  which  maintains  that  the  infants  of 
parents,  or  a  parent,  professing  godliness,  are,  by 
the  fact  of  their  birth,  members  of  the  church,  and 
intitled  to  the  sacramental  seal  of  their  relation, 
it  is  objected,  that  "  we  debase  and  prostitute  the 
sacraments;  that  we  necessarily  give  the  seal  of 
spiritual  blessings  to  multitudes  who  have  not  and 
never  shall  have,  "  any  inheritance  in  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  and  of  God" — that  by  such  an  ap- 
plication we  not  only  put  a  seal  to  a  blank,  which 
is  mere  mockery ;  but  call  upon  the  God  of  Truth 
to  certify  a  lie,  which  is  yet  worse  than  mockery — 
that  it  is  peculiarly  absurd  to  administer  to  infants 
an  ordinance  coupled  by  the  scriptures  with  faith 
in  Christ,  which  infants  are  confessedly  incapable 
of  exercising." 

This  is  specious,  and  well  calculated  to  gain  the 
popular  ear.  In  reasoning,  as  in  other  things,  it 
is  commonly  much  easier  to  get  into  a  difficulty 
than  to  get  out  of  it.  Objections  to  any  fixed 
order  are  always  at  hand,  because  its  operation 


No.  VI.— Uses.  153 

is  always  felt:  but  answers  to  those  objections 
are  not  so  ready,  because  the  reasons  of  the  order 
cease  to  be  observed,  as  time  is  always  removing 
them  further  from  our  knowledge.  On  this  ac- 
count it  frequently  requires  more  sense  and  search 
to  refute  one  cavil,  than  to  propose  twenty.  From 
the  same  cause  minds  which  feel  the  force  of  the 
cavil,  are,  in  thousands  of  instances,  unable  to 
comprehend  the  refutation,  even  though  it*  be 
mathematically  correct.  Hence  shrewd,  but  petty 
sophism,  and  warm  but  cloudy  declamation, 
against  the  visible  church,  make  a  quick  impres- 
sion, and  exert  a  lasting  influence,  upon  the  weak, 
the  illiterate,  and  the  vain;  while  the  reply  to  them 
can  hardly  hope  to  succeed,  except  among  those 
who  are  capable  of  thinking;  and  among  whom 
their  progress  is  small,  their  proselytes  few,  and 
their  dominion  tottering. 

In  the  present  case  there  appears  to  have  been, 
and  to  be,  a  peculiar  infatuation.  It  has  been 
demonstrated  over  and  over,  that  the  common, 
which  are  the  strongest,  objections  to  the  doc- 
trine of  a  visible  church  catholic,  in  so  far  at  least, 
as  it  embraces  the  administration  of  the  sacra- 
ments, apply  with  equal  force  to  the  system  of 
their  advocates  ;  to  an  appointment  unquestion- 
ably divine  ;  and  to  the  scriptural  declarations 
concerning  eternal  life. 

1.  To  the  system  of  their  advocates. 

Vol.  IV.  20 


154  Church  of  God. 

For  if  the  baptising  of  infants  who  possibly  may 
not,  and,  in  many  instances,  certainly  do  not,  prove 
to  be  true  Christians,  is  chargeable  with  nullity 
and  mockery ;  then  the  baptising  of  adults  who 
possibly  may  not,  and,  in  many  instances,  certain- 
ly do  not,  prove  to  be  true  Christians,  is  equally  a 
nullity  and  a  mockery :  And  therefore,  unless  we 
can  know  who  shall  be  the  heirs  of  salvation,  and 
restrict  the  sacraments  accordingly,  their  adminis- 
tration must  always  be  involved  in  the  charge  of 
nullity  and  mockery.  The  opponents  of  infant 
baptism  are  so  pinched  by  this  retortion  of  their 
argument,  that  they  endeavour  to  disembarrass 
themselves  by  adopting  the  reality  of  Christian  ex- 
perience, that  is,  the  discovery  of  a  man's  gracious 
state,  as  their  principle  of  admission  to  sacramen- 
tal privilege.  The  subterfuge  will  not  avail  them. 
They  must  found  their  discovery  either  on  special 
revelation,  or  upon  other  evidence.  To  the  for- 
mer they  cannot  pretend  ;  and  the  latter  they 
must  derive  from  one  of  two  sources  :  either  the 
fruits  of  grace  in  a  man's  life,  which  must  be  cer- 
tified by  others,  and  are  external  evidence  ;  or  the 
account  which  he  himself  gives  of  his  own  con- 
version. This  to  himself  is  internal,  but  the  mo- 
ment he  mentions  it  to  others,  it  becomes  testimony, 
and  like  the  former,  it  is  external  evidence. 

Is,  then,  the  judgment  of  his  examiners  liable  to 
mistake  ?  If  not,  how  did  they  become  infallible  ? 


No.  VI.— Uses.  ib5 

And,  as  the  reality  of  a  gracious  state  is  the  rea- 
son of  their  admitting  a  man  into  their  com- 
munion, it  must  for  ever  remain  a  sufficient  rea- 
son for  retaining  him:  for  those  with  whom  we 
now  contend,  hold  the  doctrine  of  the  perseve- 
rance of  the  saints.  How,  then,  can  they  ever 
justify  the  exclusion  of  any  of  their  members  ? 
For  as  the  possession  of  grace  is  the  ground  of 
his  admission,  nothing  but  the  want  of  it  can  be  a 
ground  of  his  expulsion.  Thus,  in  every  case  of 
excommunication,  they  stand  self-convicted  of 
having  mistaken  a  man's  character  either  when 
they  took  him  in,  or  when  they  cast  him  out. 
From  this  alternative  they  have  no  escape  but  an 
acknowledgment  that  they  were  either  faithless  in 
the  first  instance,  or  tyrannical  in  the  second.  In 
so  far,  therefore,  as  they  have  ever  had  their  com- 
munion, members,  who,  when  "  weighed  in  the 
balances,  were  found  wanting,"  it  is  impossible 
not  to  perceive  that  they  are  in  very  same  pre- 
dicament with  those  whom  they  reproach  as  lax 
and  carnal,  that  in  the  same  proportion  their  own 
sacraments  are  nullities  and  mockeries;  and  that 
their  blow  at  the  advocates  of  the  one  visible 
church,  recoils,  with  all  its  force,  upon  their  own 
heads. 

2.  Their  objections  to  our  doctrine,  are  equally 
conclusive  against  an  appointment  unquestionably 
divine :  we  mean  the  ordinance  of  circumcision. 


156  Church  of  God. 

We  must  repeat,  that  as  circumcision  is  ex- 
pressly declared  to  be  a  "  seal  of  the  righteousness 
of  faith;"  and  as  it  was  applied  by  God's  own 
commandment  to  infants  eight  days  old,  if  the 
baptism  of  infants  who  know  nothing  of  believing 
in  Christ,  is  nullity  and  mockery  ;  an  absurd  and 
foolish  ceremony  :  then,  the  circumcision  of  in- 
fants who  knew  nothing  of  that  righteousness  of 
faith  which  it  sealed,  was  also  a  nullity  and  a 
mockery  ;  was  also  an  absurd  and  foolish  cere- 
mony ;  and  the  divine  commandment  which  en- 
joined it,  a  foolish  and  an  absurd  commandment. 

3.  These  same  objections  are  applicable  to  the 
scriptural  doctrine  of  eternal  life.  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved"  quotes 
the  Anabaptist.  We  continue  the  quotation : 
"  But  he  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned.* 

His  argument  is  this  : 
Faith  is  required  in  order  to  baptism : 
But  infants  cannot  exercise  faith  : 
Therefore,  infants  cannot  be  baptised. 

We  turn  his  argument  thus : 
Faith  is  required  in  order  to  salvation  : 
But  infants  cannot  exercise  faith  : 
Therefore,  infants  cannot  be  saved. 

And  so  this  famous  syllogism  begins  with  shut- 

*  Mark  xvi.  16. 


No.  VL—Uses.  157 

ting  out  our  children  from  the  church  of  God  ; 
and  ends  with  consigning  all  of  them  who  die  in 
infancy  to  the  damnation  of  hell  !# 

We  are  quite  weary  and  almost  ashamed  of 
repeating  answers  so  trite  as  those  which  we  are 
compelled  to  repeat,  against  still  more  trite  ob- 
jections; but  it  is  of  importance  to  show  that  the 
heaviest  stroke  which  the  enemies  of  our  doc- 
trine level  at  us,  is  leveled,  with  equal  strength, 
at  themselves,  their  bible,  and  their  God. 

These  remarks  belong  to  that  sort  of  argument 
which  is  called  argumerdum  ad  hominem :  that  is, 
an  argument  drawn  from  a  man's  own  principles 
against  himself.  Its  use  is,  not  so  much  to  prove 
the  truth,  as  to  disprove  errour :  not  to  show  that 
our  own  cause  is  good ;  but  that  our  adversary's 
reasoning  is  bad;  by  showing  that  his  weapon  can- 
not pierce  us  but  at  the  expense  of  transfixing 
himself:  so  that  if  he  prevail  against  us,  he  will, 


*  We  do  not  say  that  the  opposers  of  infant  baptism  hold  such 
an  opinion.  Their  most  distinguished  writers  disown  and  repel 
it.  But  we  say,  tbat  it  necessarily  results  from  their  requiring 
faith,  in  all  cases,  as  a  qualification  for  baptism.  They  do  not 
follow  out  their  own  position.  They  stop  short  at  the  point  which 
suits  their  system.  We  take  it  up  where  they  leave  it,  and  con- 
duct it  to  its  direct  and  inevitable  conclusion.  Therefore,  though 
we  do  not  charge  the  men  with  maintaining  that  those  who  die  in 
infancy,  perish  ;  yet  we  charge  this  consequence  upon  their  ar- 
gument :  For  it  certainly  proves  this,  or  it  proves  nothing  at  all. 


158  Church  of  God. 

in  the  moment  of  his  victory,  meet  his  own  death 
on  the  point  of  his  own  sword. 

We  owe  our  readers  more.  We  owe  a  deci- 
sion on  the  merits  of  the  case.  Which  we  shall 
attempt  by  pointing  out  the  true  use  of  the  sacra- 
mental seal. 

We  observed,  in  an  early  part  of  the  discussion, 
that  the  difficulty  which  produces  objections  like 
those  we  have  been  exposing,  is  created  by  erro- 
neous notions  of  the  church  of  God  ;  by  confound- 
ing visible  members  with  his  elect ;  and  his  cove- 
nant to  the  church  with  his  covenant  of  grace  in 
Christ  Jesus ;  and  that  a  proper  application  of 
this  distinction  will  remove  the  difficulty.# 

The  sacramental  seal  has  appropriate  relations 
to  these  covenants  respectively  ,  and  thus  we  dis- 
tinguish them. 

1.  It  has  visible  relations  to  the  visible  church. 
Particularly, 

(1.)  It  certifies,  that  the  covenant  of  her  God 
to  her  abides,  and  secures  to  her  the  perpetual 
enjoyment  of  her  covenanted  privileges. 

(2.)  It  certifies,  that  the  righteousness  of  faith 
and  the  salvation  connected  with  it,  are  dispensed 
in  the  church ;  and  that  there,  and  there*  alone, 
they  are  to  be  expected  and  sought. 

(3.)  It  certifies,  that  the  church  is  under  the 
consecration  of  the  redeemer's  blood ;  has  an  un- 
No.  IV.  p.  83. 


No.  VI.— Uses,  159 

ceasing  interest  in  his  mediation ;  and  access  in 
her  public  character,  and  in  the  acts  of  direct  wor- 
ship, to  "the  holiest  of  all." 

(4.)  It  certifies,  that  the  covenanted  seed  shall 
never  be  extinct ;  but  that  "  a  seed  shall  serve 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shall  be  accounted  to  him 
for  a  generation,  so  long  as  the  sun  and  the  moon 
endure." 

(5.)  It  certifies  that  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
his  providence,  God  will  cause  his  saving  mercy 
to  run  in  the  channel  of  his  people's  families. 

(6.)  It  certifies,  that  the  individual  sealed  is 
himself  a  link  in  the  great  chain  for  transmitting 
down,  from  generation  to  generation,  the  know- 
ledge and  execution  of  God's  plan  of  grace. 

(7.)  It  certifies,  that  the  individual  sealed  has 
a  right  to  the  prayers,  the  instruction,  the  protec- 
tion, and  the  discipline  of  the  house  of  God. 

(8.)  In  the  baptism  of  infants,  it  certifies,  that 
even  they  need  the  purification  of  that  blood 
"  which  cleanses  from  all  sin  ;"  and  that  it  can  be 
applied  to  them  for  their  salvation.  So  that  infant 
baptism  is  a  visible  testimony,  incorporated  with 
the  ordinances  of  God's  worship,  both  to  the  guilt 
and  depravity  of  our  nature  independently  on  ac- 
tual transgression,  and  to  the  only  remedy  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If  you  reject  it,  you  throw 
away  the  only  ordinance  which  directly  asserts  the 
principle  upon  which  the  whole  fabric  of  redemp- 


]  60  Church  of  God. 

tion  is  built,  viz.  that  we  are  by  nature  children  of 
wrath. 

These  are  great  and  important  uses  of  the  sa- 
cramental seal ;  intimately  connected  with  the 
faith,  hope,  and  consolation  of  the  church  ;  and 
yet  distinct  and  separate  from  an  individual's 
interest  in  the  salvation  of  God.  Whatever  shall 
become  of  him,  they  are  grand,  and  solemn,  and 
tender  truths  to  which  he  is  the  instrument  of  per- 
petuating a  testimony.  Should  he  afterwards  be 
a  reproach,  instead  of  an  ornament,  to  the  gos- 
pel ;  should  he  be  "  abominable,  and  disobedient, 
and  to  every  good  work  reprobate,"  he  shall 
perish  indeed ;  but  his  perdition  shall  not  affect 
the  testimony  given  in  his  person,  by  the  sacra- 
mental seal,  to  those  blessed  truths  and  privileges 
which  we  have  enumerated.  That  testimony, 
that  sealed  testimony,  is  absolute ;  it  is  perfect- 
ly independent  upon  his  spiritual  state  ;  and  is 
precisely  the  same,  whether  he  be  "  appointed 
to  wrath,  or  to  obtain  salvation  by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

2.  The  sacramental  seal  has  a  special  relation 
to  the  church  invisible,  and  to  the  spiritual  mer- 
cies of  the  covenant  of  grace. 

Union  with  Christ ;  acceptance  in  his  merits  ; 
participation  of  his  Spirit ;  the  fellowship  of  his 
death,  of  the  power  of  his  resurrection,  of  his  ever- 
lasting love,  and  an  interest  in  all  the  blessings  of 


No.  VI.— Uses.  161 

his  purchase,  the  sacraments  do  certainly  repre- 
sent and  seal.  These  glorious  objects  always 
have  been,  and  still  are,  in  the  most  lively  and  af- 
fecting manner,  exhibited  to,  and  perceived  by,  the 
faith  of  believers;  and  their  personal  interest 
therein  is  at  times  certified  to  their  consciences 
by  "  that  holy  spirit  of  promise  whereby  they  are 
sealed  to  the  day  of  redemption."  But  all  this  is 
peculiar  to  the  household  of  faith.  It  presupposes 
their  interest  in  Christ ;  it  is  over  and  above  the 
general  uses  which  we  just  now  specified  ;  and  is 
a  secret  between  the  omniscient  God  and  the 
happy  recipient. 

The  reader  now  sees,  that  the  attestation  of  the 
sacramental  seal  is  to  be  limited  and  extended  by 
the  state  of  the  receiver.  If  he  be  only  a  member 
of  the  visible  church,  and  merely  within  the  bond 
of  the  external  covenant,  it  certifies  in  him  and  to 
him  whatever  appertains  to  him  in  that  relation, 
and  nothing  more.  But  if  he  be  a  member  of  the 
church  invisible  also,  and  interested  in  the  saving 
benefits  of  the  covenant  of  grace  ;  it  goes  further, 
and  certifies  whatever  appertains  to  him  in  that 
relation. 

With  the  help  of  this  obvious  distinction  we  re- 
move difficulties  which  are  otherwise  extremely 
perplexing  ;  reconcile  expressions  otherwise  irre- 
concileable;  show  the  futility  of  objections  found- 
ed on  the  want  of  grace  in  the  individual  sealed ; 

Vol.  IV.  21 


162  Church  of  God. 

and  demonstrate,  as  we  promised,  "  that  the  seal  of 
God's  covenant  does,  in  every  instance,  certify  absolute 
truth  ;  whether  it  be  applied  to  a  believer  or  an  unbe- 
liever ;  to  the  elect  or  the  reprobate" 


163 


CHURCH  OF  GOD. 


No.  VII. 

Results, 

From  explaining  the  uses  which  the  visible 
church,  constituted  as  we  have  stated  it  to  be,  sub- 
serves, we  pass  on  to  some  of  its  practical  results. 
We  mean  certain  principles,  flowing,  as  necessary 
conclusions,  from  the  doctrine  which  we  have  es- 
tablished; and  which  directly  influence  the  whole 
system  of  ecclesiastical  order. 

1.  The  right  and  duty  of  all  them  who  in  every 
place  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.,  to  hold 
religious  fellowship  with  each  other,  as  God  af- 
fordeth  opportunity,  are  undisputed  among  Chris- 
tians. Whatever  be  their  diversities  of  opinion 
concerning  the  extent  of  that  general  description, 
and  the  religious  fellowship  founded  upon  it,  yet 
within  the  limits  which  they  prescribe  to  them- 
selves respectively,  they  not  only  revere  it  as  a 
duty,  but  esteem  it  as  a  privilege :  They  both  in- 
sist upon  its  letter,  and  act  in  its  spirit.  A  private 


164  Church  of  God. 

Christian  goes  from  one  congregation  to  another, 
and  is  received  upon  the  evidence  of  his  having 
been  a  member  of  that  which  he  left.  A  minister 
of  the  gospel  travels  into  parts  distant  from  the 
place  and  society  where  he  was  ordained ;  and 
preaches  the  word,  without  scruple,  in  any  other 
part  of  the  world  ;  and  without  a  thought  of  his 
wanting  a  new  commission.  A  person  lawfully 
baptized  is  every  where  considered  as  under  sa- 
cramental consecration  to  God  in  Christ ;  and 
nobody  dreams  of  repeating  his  baptism.  We 
make  no  account  of  the  question  about  a  valid  or 
invalid  ministry,  because  we  confine  ourselves,  at 
present,  to  the  communion  which  obtains  among 
those  who  are  agreed  on  this  point. 

We  ask,  then,  what  is  the  origin  and  reason  of 
this  communion  ?  What  is  there  to  render  it  law- 
ful and  proper  ?  "  A  common  interest,"  you  will 
say,  "  in  the  Christian  ordinances,  and  the  bene- 
fits dispensed  by  them."  No  doubt.  But  what 
is  the  basis  of  this  common  interest?  How  did  it 
become  common  ?  "  Christ  has  procured  it  for 
his  church."  Most  certainly.  But  what  church  ? 
The  church  of  those  who  are  "  written  in  the 
Lamb's  book  of  life  ?"  Nothing  more  incontro- 
vertible. Yet  do  you  not  perceive  that  you  have 
laid  the  foundation  of  all  religious  fellowship  in 
this — that  the  elect  church  of  the  redeemed  is 
one  ?  and  that  individual  Christians  enjoy  their 


No.  VII.— Results.  165 

spiritual  immunities,  merely  as  parts  of  that  great 
whole  to  which  Christ  has  bequeathed  them  ?  As 
members  of  the  one  "  household  of  faith  ?"  As 
citizens  of  the  one  "  city  of  God  ?"  That  the  right 
to  spiritual  privileges  turns  precisely  on  this  point, 
"  They  are  given  to  the  church,  and  I  am  a 
member  of  the  church/'  But  as  there  can  be  no 
external  communion  without  an  external  church, 
and  as  all  the  sections  of  true  believers  all  the 
world  over,  compose  but  one  church  invisible,  it 
follows  that  the  sections,  or  if  you  will,  congrega- 
tions, of  visible  believers,  compose  but  one  visible 
church.  For  it  seems  unreasonable  to  say,  that 
the  ivhole  number  of  real  Christians  should  not  bear 
the  same  general  relation  to  the  ivhole  number  of 
professing  Christians  among  whom  they  are  in- 
cluded, with  that  which  every  portion  of  real  Chris- 
tians bears  to  that  portion  of  professed  Christians 
in  which  it  is  included.  But  the  relation  which  a 
number  of  true  Christians,  in  the  bonds  of  Chris- 
tian fellowship,  bear  to  the  external  society  to 
which  they  belong,  is  that  of  a  part  of  the  Church 
catholic  invisible,  to  a  particular  visible  church. 
Therefore,  the  relation  which  all  the  parts  of  the 
church  invisible  bear  to  all  particular  visible 
churches,  is  that  of  one  general  church  invisible 
to  one  general  church  visible. 

Again:  The  several  portions  of  real  Christians 
are  related  to  their  aggregate  number,  as  parts  of 


166  Church  of  God. 

a  great  whole  which  is  the  Catholic  church  invisi- 
ble.  Therefore,  all  the  portions  or  congregations 
of  professed  Christians  are  related  to  each  other 
as  parts  of  a  great  whole,  which  is  the  Catholic 
church  visible. 

Hence  it  results,  that  as  a  right  to  those  privi- 
leges which  the  Lord  Jesus  hath  purchased  for  his 
redeemed,  is  founded  in  the  circumstance  of  being 
a  member  of  that  church  which  is  made  up  of 
them ;  so,  a  right  to  the  external  privileges  which 
are  dispensed  by  an  external  ministry  in  the  ex- 
ternal church  is  founded  upon  the  fact  of  one's 
being  a  member  of  that  church.  It  is  on  this 
ground,  and  on  this  alone,  that  the  communion  of 
churches  is  established.  A  man  is  not  admitted 
to  Christian  fellowship  in  one  congregation  be- 
cause he  is  a  member  of  another — this  would  be 
a  solecism.  But  he  is  admitted  because  he  is  a 
member  of  the  church  catholic ;  of  which  his  com- 
munion in  any  particular  church  is  received  as 
evidence  by  every  other  particular  church.  He  is 
free  of  the  "  city  of  God,"  and  therefore  entitled 
to  the  immunities  of  citizenship  in  whatever  part 
of  the  city  he  may  happen  to  be.  We  may  illus- 
trate this  matter  by  an  analogy  from  civil  affairs. 
A  citizen  of  the  state  of  New-York  carries  his 
citizenship  with  him  to  every  spot  under  her  juris- 
diction. It  is  of  no  consequence  in  what  county 
or  town  he  resides  ;  nor  how  often  he  removes 


No.  VII.— Results.  167 

from  one  town  or  county  to  another ;  nor  whether 
he  be  at  his  own  dwelling;  or  on  a  visit  to  a  friend; 
or  on  a  journey  ;  whatever  privileges  belong  to 
him  in  his  general  character,  of  a  citizen  of  the 
state,  he  can  claim  any  where  and  every  where  : 
for  example,  the  right  of  voting  for  governour,  pro- 
vided he  be  legally  qualified. 

On  the  contrary,  a  man's  being  an  inhabitant 
of  a  particular  city  or  town,  does  not  give  him  the 
least  title  to  the  immunities  peculiar  to  any  other 
city  or  town.  It  would  be  very  absurd  for  him  to 
insist  that  because  he  had  a  right  to  vote  for 
charter-officers  in  New-York,  therefore  he  has  a 
right  to  vote  for  charter-officers  in  Albany  !  The 
reason  is,  they  are  independent  on  each  other. 
But  if  voting  for  charter-officers  were  a  right  at- 
tached to  citizenship  at  large,  then  he  could  claim 
the  right  in  any  city  within  the  state — and  he 
would  vote  in  Albany,  not  because  he  had  voted 
in  New-York,  but  because  he  is  a  member  of  the 
state  which  includes  them  both. 

The  very  same  principle  pervades  the  church 
of  God.  Were  it  not  one,  no  man  could  claim 
privilege  or  exercise  office,  out  of  the  particular 
church  to  which  he  belongs.  A  minister  is  no 
minister  out  of  his  own  pulpit  and  his  own  charge. 
It  would  be  just  as  proper  for  an  alderman  of 
New-York  to  issue  writs  in  Albany,  as  for  a  minis- 
ter of  a  congregation  in  New- York  to  offer  to 


168  Church  of  God. 

preach  in  Albany.  The  effect  would  be,  that  a 
minister  must  have  a  new  commission,  that  is,  a 
new  ordination,  for  every  new  church  he  should 
preach  in. 

We  know  that  no  church  under  heaven  is  able 
to  carry  this  principle  out  into  practice.  There 
is  but  one  of  two  ways  to  avoid  the  embarrass- 
ment : 

Either,  communion  between  the  members  and 
ministers  of  different  congregations,  is  the  result  of 
an  agreement  between  them  ;  or  the  independent 
churches  themselves  do  act  upon  the  principle 
which  they  deny,  the  catholic  unity  of  the  church. 

If  the  latter,  our  point  is  gained.  If  the  former, 
then  the  communion  of  churches  is  derived,  not 
from  their  communion  with  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
nor  from  his  authority  ;  but  from  a  human  com- 
pact ;  and  thus  far  we  have  no  Christian  privileges 
at  all. 

If,  to  elude  the  force  of  this  conclusion,  it  be 
said,  that  Christ  has  warranted  and  required  his 
churches,  although  independent  of  each  other,  to 
keep  up  their  fellowship  in  his  name — we  reply, 
that  this  is  a  contradiction.  Because  the  very  fact 
of  his  uniting  them  in  such  fellowship  constitutes 
them,  to  its  whole  extent,  but  one  body,  the  mem- 
bers of  which  cannot  possibly  be  independent  on 
each  other.  The  issue  is,  that  all  Christian  and 
ministerial  communion  originates  in  the  visible 


No.  VII.— Results.  169 

unity  of  the  catholic  church ;  and  that  tnere  is  no 
explaining  its  reason,  nor  preserving  its  existence, 
without  admitting,  in  some  shape  or  other,  that 
.the  church  of  God  is  one — this  is  our  first  result. 

2.  From  the  relation  in  which  the  children  of 
believing  parents  stand  in  the  church  of  God  there 
result  mutual  rights  and  duties. 

1st.  Such  children  have  a  right,  even  in  their 
infancy,  to  a  solemn  acknowledgment  of  their 
membership  by  the  administration  of  baptism — 
they  have  a  right  to  the  individual  and  collective 
prayers  of  Christians ;  that  is  to  be  remembered 
before  the  throne  of  grace  by  Christians  in  their 
retired  devotion,  and  in  the  public  worship  of  the 
church. — They  have  a  right,  during  their  tender 
age,  to  her  instruction,  her  protection,  and  her 
salutary  control.  It  would  be  strange,  indeed,  if 
little  children,  who  were  so  graciously  noticed  by 
her  king  and  her  God,  should  have  no  claim  upon 
her  parental  affection.  They  are  her  hope;  they 
are  the  seed  from  which  she  is  to  look  for  "  trees 
of  righteousness  ;  the  planting  of  Jehovah  that  he 
may  be  glorified."  And,  as  such,  they  are  intitled 
to  her  patient  and  assiduous  culture. 

This  is  the  birth-right  of  the  children  of  those 

who  name  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.     We  had 

it  from  our  fathers.    "  They  trusted  in  God ;  they 

trusted  in  him  and  they  were  not  confounded." 

He  was  their  God ;  and  he  was  our  God  also,  be- 
Vol.  IV.  22 


170  Church  of  God. 

cause  he  was  the  God  of  their  seed.  Thus  "  the 
lines  fell  unto  us  in  pleasant  places  ;  yea  we  had 
a  goodly  heritage."  Owning  the  God  of  our  fa- 
thers, we  call  upon  him  as  the  God  of  our  seed;, 
and  the  inheritance  which  we  derived  from  them 
we  transmit  to  our  sons  and  our  daughters,  that 
they  may  hand  it  down  to  their  children,  and  their 
children  to  another  generation.  Our  giddy  youth 
undervalue  this  privilege;  our  profane  youth  laugh 
at  it.  In  doing  so  they  "  observe  lying  vanities, 
and  forsake  their  own  mercies."  Such  as  have 
coma  to  their  right  mind,  and  have  learned  to  sit 
at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  will  say,  with  heartfelt  emo- 
tion, in  the  words  of  Dr.  Watts  : 

"  Lord,  I  ascribe  it  to  thy  grace  ; 

And  not  to  chance,  as  others  do ; 
That  I  was  born  of  Christian  race, 

And  not  a  heathen  or  a  Jew." 

2d.  There  are  duties  corresponding  with  these 
privileges.  Youth  born  in  the  Christian  church, 
acknowledged  as  her  children,  and  put  under  her 
care,  can  never  shake  off  certain  tender  and  so- 
lemn obligations. 

They  are  bound  to  revere  her  authority,  and  to 
promote  her  happiness.  The  very  law  of  nature 
intitles  her  to  this.  A  young  man  who  should 
evince,  from  the  time  he  was  capable  of  action,  a 
studied  contempt  for  the  magistrates,  laws,  insti- 
tutions and  welfare  of  his  country,  would  be  held 


No.  VII.— Results.  171 

to  have  renounced  all  virtuous  principle ;  and,  if 
he  should  elude  the  tribunals  of  justice,  could  noi 
escape  the  punishment  of  public  detestation.  But 
why?  Is  it  because  God  has  entrusted  his  church 
with  his  living  oracles;  and  dignified  her  with  his 
gracious  presence,  that  her  counsels  are  beneath 
regard,  and  her  control  a  matter  of  scorn  ?  Is  it 
because  she  has  done  more  to  prepare  her  children 
for  usefulness,  for  comfort,  and  for  glory,  than 
mere  civil  society  ever  did,  or  ever  can  do,  that 
she  has  forfeited  their  esteem,  does  not  deserve  a 
hearing  when  she  exhorts  or  remonstrates,  and 
shall  have  her  most  friendly  and  faithful  services 
repaid  with  indifference  or  disdain  ?  And  shall 
behaviour  which,  in  every  other  community  would 
seal  a  man  up  for  infamy,  be  applauded  as  spirited 
and  magnanimous  in  the  church  of  God  ?  Let 
not  the  unworthy  notion  find  a  place  among  our 
young  people ;  let  them  feel  their  obligation  to 
requite,  with  kindness,  the  care  which  watched 
over  their  early  days  ;  and  to  respect  the  counsels 
and  institutions  whose  tendency  is  not  to  debase, 
but  to  ennoble  them ;  not  to  embitter  their  en- 
joyments, but  to  ensure  their  peace ;  not  to  lead 
them  into  harm,  but  to  save  them  from  ruin  here, 
and  to  crown  them  with  external  blessedness  in 
the  world  to  come. 

Let  them  reflect,  moreover,  that  they  are  bound 
to  own  their  relation  to  the  church  of  God,  by 


172  Church  of  God. 

professing  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
showing  forth  his  death  in  the  communion  of  the 
holy  supper,  and  walking  in  all  his  ordinances  and 
commandments  blameless. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  even  such  of  them  as  are 
of  sober  deportment ;  as  carefully  avoid  every 
thing  rude  or  unbecoming  toward  Christianity  and 
Christians  ;  as  would  turn  with  horrour  from  open 
infidelity,  do  yet,  for  the  most  part,  labour  under 
the  evil  of  an  erroneous  conscience  on  this  sub- 
ject ;  and  seduce  themselves  into  a  false  and  hurt- 
ful tranquillity.  They  seem  to  think  that  profess- 
ing or  not  professing  to  be  followers  of  Christ  is  a 
matter  of  mere  choice — that  the  omission  con- 
tracts no  guilt,  while  it  enlarges  the  sphere  of  their 
indulgences,  and  exempts  them  from  the  necessi- 
ty of  that  tender  and  circumspect  walk  which  be- 
longs to  a  real  Christian. 

This  is  all  wrong — radically  wrong.  The  very 
mildest  construction  which  it  can  bear,  amounts 
to  a  confession  of  their  being  "  aliens  from  the 
commonwealth  of  Israel  and  strangers  to  the  co- 
venants of  promise" — of  their  anxiety  to  decline 
something  which  the  service  of  God  imposes,  or 
of  retaining  something  which  it  abjures — and  is 
not  this  a  most  alarming  thought  ?  Do  they  expect 
to  get  to  heaven  with  tempers  and  habits  which 
are  incompatible  with  devotedness  to  God  upon 
earth  ?  If  they  do  not  choose  to  "  name  the  name 


No.   VII.— Results.  173 

of  Christ,"  is  it  not  because  they  do  not  choose  to 
"  depart  from  iniquity  ?"  Let  them  not  cherish 
any  delusive  hope.  Without  holiness  no  man  shall 
see  the  Lord.  And  if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  he  is  none  of  his  !  O  let  them  weigh  well  the 
alternative  !  If  they  do,  what  possible  reason  can 
they  assign  for  refusing  to  honour  him  before 
men  ?  Nay,  this  cannot  be  admitted  :  for  if  with 
the  heart  they  believe  unto  righteousness,  with  the  mouth 
they  will  also  make  confession  unto  salvation.  And 
Christ  has  told  them  that  if  they  will  not  confess 
him  before  men,  they  have  nothing  to  expect  but 
that  he  will  not  confess  them  before  his  Father  who  is 
in  heaven.  By  not  confessing  the  Lord  Jesus, 
they  declare  themselves  willing  to  be  accounted 
unbelievers.  Are  they  prepared  for  the  conse- 
quences ? 

Furthermore.  It  arises  out  of  the  very  nature 
of  the  case,  that  if  the  most  High  God  condescends 
to  offer  eternal  life,  in  his  dear  Son,  to  sinners 
whom  he  might  justly  shut  up  under  an  irreversi- 
ble sentence  of  death,  they  cannot  slight  his  offer 
without  the  most  flagrant  ingratitude,  and  the 
most  aggravated  guilt.  His  commandment  to  re- 
ceive the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  his  "  unspeakable 
gift,"  is  peremptory :  and  disobedience  to  it  an  act 
of  direct  rebellion.  To  say  then,  "  1  will  not  pro- 
fess the  name  of  Christ,"  is  to  say,  "  I  will  neither 
submit  to  the  authority  of  God,  nor  accept  the  gift 


174  Church  of  God. 

of  his  grace."  With  the  very  same  propriety 
might  you  say,  I  will  pay  no  respect  to  the  moral 
law — I  will  go  after  strange  Gods :  I  will  bow  to 
graven  images — I  will  swear  and  blaspheme — I 
will  not  keep  holy  the  Sabbath  day — I  will  not 
obey  my  parents — I  will  murder,  and  commit 
adultery,  and  steal,  and  lie,  and  covet ;  1  will  do 
nothing  which  God  has  required ;  and  I  will  do 
every  thing  which  he  has  forbidden  !  Does  the 
youthful  reader  start  and  tremble  ?  Why  ?  The 
same  God  who  has  said,  Thou  shalt  not  kill — thou 
shalt  not  commit  adultery — thou  shalt  not  steal — 
thou  shalt  not  lie ;  has  said,  Believe  on  the  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ.  It  is  the  same  authority  which  enjoins, 
and  the  same  rebellion  which  resists.  Thou  canst 
not,  therefore,  decline  that  "  good  confession,  but 
at  the  peril  of  putting  away  from  thee  the  words 
of  eternal  life."  And  thou  knowest  what  his  word 
has  decided. — If  any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus 

Christ,  let  him  be .# 

There  is  something  more.  Many  young  persons 
imagine  that  they  are  not  members  of  the  church, 
until,  upon  a  personal  profession  of  their  faith,  they 
join  it  in  the  communion  of  the  holy  supper.  This 
is  a  great  mistake.  The  children  of  Christian 
parents  are  bom  members  of  the  church.  Their 
baptism  is  founded  upon  their  membership ;  and 
not,  as  some  people  suppose,  their  membership 

*  ]  Cor.  xvi.  22. 


No.  VII.— Results.  175 

upon  their  baptism.  On  the  same  principle,  when 
they  arrive  at  the  years  of  discretion,  they  may,  in 
taking  upon  them  their  baptismal  engagements, 
by  a  becoming  profession  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  de- 
mand a  seat  at  his  table,  as  their  'privilege  which 
the  church  cannot  deny.  Their  allegiance  to  him 
as  their  Redeemer,  their  King,  and  their  God,  is 
inseparable  from  their  birth-right.  The  question, 
then,  with  them,  when  they  reach  that  period  of 
maturity  which  qualifies  them  to  judge  for  them- 
selves, is,  not  whether  they  shall  contract  or  avoid 
an  allegiance  which  has  hitherto  had  no  claims 
upon  them  :  but  whether  they  shall  acknowledge 
or  renounce  an  allegiance  under  which  they  drew 
their  first  breath  ?  Whether  they  shall  disown  the 
prince  of  life,  and  wave  their  interest  in  his  church  ? 
Whether  they  shall  disclaim  the  God  of  their  fa- 
thers; forswear  their  consecration  to  his  service — 
take  back  the  vows  which  were  made  over  them 
and  for  them  when  they  were  presented  to  him  in 
his  sanctuary;  his  blessed  name  called  upon  them; 
and  the  symbol  of  that  "  blood  which  cleanseth 
from  all  sin,"  applied  to  them  ?  Not  whether  they 
shall  be  simple  unbelievers,  but  whether  they  shall 
display  their  unbelief  in  the  form  of  apostasy  ?  That 
is  the  question :  and  an  awful  one  it  is.  As  they 
value  their  eternal  life,  let  them  consider,  that 
every  hour  of  their  continuance  in  their  neglect  of 
Christ  is  an  hour  of  contempt  for  his  salvation, 


176  Church  of  God. 

and  of  slander  on  his  cross.  How  shall  their 
hearts  endure  or  their  hands  be  made  strong, 
when  he  shall  come  to  reckon  with  them  for  their 
treading  him  under  foot,  and  counting  the  blood  of  the 
covenant  wherewith  he  teas  sanctified,  an  unholy  thing  ? 
Reckon  with  them  he  will,  and  precisely  for  their 
not  owning  him  ;  for  they  cannot,  no,  they  cannot 
shake  off  their  obligations  to  own  him;  although 
in  the  attempt  they  may  destroy  themselves  for 
ever. 

"  According  to  this  representation,"  I  shall  be 
told,,  "the  condition  of  many  of  our  youth  is  very 
deplorable.  It  is  their  duty,  you  say,  to  profess 
the  name  of  Christ,  and  to  seal  their  profession  at 
the  sacramental  table.  This  they  cannot  do: 
for  they  are  conscious  that  they  do  not  possess 
those  principles  and  dispositions  which  are  requi- 
site to  render  such  a  profession  honest.  What 
course  shall  they  steer  ?  If  they  do  not  profess 
Christ,  they  live  in  rebellion  against  God  :  if  they 
do,  they  mock  him  with  a  lie.  Which  side  of  the 
alternative  shall  they  embrace  ?  Continue  among 
the  profane,  and  be  consistently  wicked  ?  or 
withdraw  from  them  in  appearance,  and  play  the 
hypocrite  ?" 

The  case  is,  indeed,  very  deplorable.  Destruc- 
tion is  on  either  hand.  For  the  unbelieving  shall 
have  their  part  in  the  lake  of  fire,*  and  the  hypo- 
*  Rev.  xxi.  8. 


No.  VIL— Results.  177 

crite's  hope  shall  perish.*  God  forbid  that  we 
should  encourage  either  a  false  profession,  or  a 
refusal  to  make  one.  The  duty  is  to  embrace 
neither  side  of  the  alternative.  Not  to  continue 
with  the  profane,  and  not  to  act  the  hypocrite ; 
but  to  receive  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  truth,  and 
to  walk  in  him.  "  I  cannot  do  it,"  replies  one  : 
and  one,  it  may  be,  not  without  moments  of  seri- 
ous and  tender  emotion  upon  this  very  point :  "  I 
cannot  do  it."  My  soul  bleeds  for  thee,  thou  un- 
happy !  But  it  must  be  done,  or  thou  art  lost  for 
ever.  Yet  what  is  the  amount  of  that  expression : 
in  the  mouth  of  some  a  flaunting  excuse,  and  of 
others  a  bitter  complaint — I  cannot  ?  Is  the  ina- 
bility to  believe  in  Christ  different  from  an  inabili- 
ty to  perform  any  other  duty  ?  Is  there  any  harder 
necessity  of  calling  the  God  of  Truth  a  liar,  in 
not  believing  the  record  which  he  hath  given  of  his  son, 
than  of  committing  any  other  sin  ?  The  inability 
created,  the  necessity  imposed,  by  the  enmity  of 
the  carnal  mind  against  God  ?f  It  is  the  inability 
of  wickedness,  and  nothing  else.  Instead  of  being 
an  apology,  it  is  itself  the  essential  crime,  and  can 
never  become  its  own  vindication. 

But  it  is  even  so.  The  evil  does  lie  too  deep  for 
the  reach  of  human  remedies.  Yet  a  remedy 
there  is,  and  an  effectual  one.  It  is  here — "  / 
will  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be 

*  Job  viii.  1.  t  Rom.  viii.  7. 

Vol.  IV.  23 


178  Church  of  God. 

clean  ;  from  all  your  ftlthiness,  and  from  all  your  idols 
will  I  cleanse  you.  A  new  heart  also  will  I  giye  you, 
and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you  :  And  I  will 
take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh  ;  and  I 
will  give  you  an  heart  of  flesh.  And  I  will  put  my 
spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you  to  walk  in  my  sta- 
tutes ;  and  ye  shall  keep  my  judgments  and  do  them* 
Try  this  expedient  :  Go,  with  thy  "  filthiness"  and 
thine  "  idols  :"  Go,  with  thy  "  stony  heart"  and 
thy  perverse  spirit,  which  are  thy  real  inability,  to 
God  upon  the  throne  of  grace  ;  spread  out  before 
him  his  "  exceeding  great  and  precious  promise," 
importune  him  as  the  hearer  of  prayer,  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  for  the  accomplishment  of  it  to 
thyself — wait  for  his  mercy  :  it  is  worth  waiting 
for — and  remember  his  word ;  Therefore  will  the 
Lord  wait,  that  he  may  be  gracious  unto  you  ;  and 
therefore  will  he  be  exalted  that  he  may  have  mercy 
upon  you  :  for  the  Lord  is  a  God  of  judgment ;  bless- 
ed are  all  they  that  wait  for  him."\ 

The  rights  and  duties  of  the  children  of  believing 
parents,  arising  out  of  their  relation  to  the  church, 
is  only  part  of  our  second  result,  as  they  are  mu- 
tual, let  us  now  turn  the  question  and  view  it 
in  its  relation  to  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  toward  such  children. 

A  right  to  provide  for  the  proper  education  of 
their  youth,  has  always  been  claimed,  and  exer- 

*  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25—27.  f  Js.  xxx.  18. 


No.  VIL— -Results.  179 

cised  in  some  form  or  other,  by  every  civilized 
community.  It  is,  indeed,  inherent  in  the  very  na- 
ture of  human  society ;  as  it  springs  out  of  that 
great,  universal,  and  essential  principle  of  man — 
self-preservation.  The  risen  generation,  is,  for 
the  most  part,  fixed.  Their  habits  are  formed, 
their  characters  settled,  and  what  is  to  be  expect- 
ed from  them  may  be  ascertained  with  sufficient 
exactness  for  the  principal  purposes  of  life.  Not 
so  with  the  rising  race.  No  sagacity  can  foretell 
what  characters  shall  be  developed,  or  what  parts 
performed,  by  these  boys  and  girls  who  throng  our 
streets,  and  sport  in  our  fields.  In  their  tender 
breasts  are  concealed  the  germs,  in  their  little 
hands  are  lodged  the  weapons,  of  a  nation's  over- 
throw or  glory.  Would  it  not,  then,  be  madness ; 
would  it  not  be  a  sort  of  political  suicide,  for  the 
commonwealth  to  be  unconcerned  what  direction 
their  infant  powers  shall  take;  or  into  what  habits 
their  budding  affections  shall  ripen  ?  Or  will  it  be 
disputed,  that  the  civil  authority  has  a  right  to 
take  care,  by  a  paternal  interference,  on  behalf  of 
the  children,  that  the  next  generation  shall  not 
prostrate  in  an  hour,  whatever  has  been  conse- 
crated to  truth,  to  virtue,  and  to  happiness,  by  the 
generations  that  are  past  ? 

If  this  is  the  common  privilege  of  human  nature, 
on  what  principle  shall  it  be  denied  to  the  church 
of  God  ?  Spiritual  in  her  character,  furnished  with 


180  Church  of  God. 

every  light  to  guide  the  understanding;  and  every 
precept  to  mould  the  heart — possessing  whatever 
is  fearful  to  deter  from  sin,  and  whatever  is  sweet 
and  alluring  to  win  to  God  and  holiness,  how  is  it 
possible  that  she  can  have  no  right  to  bring  these 
her  advantages  to  bear  upon  the  youth  committed 
to  her  trust  ?  Why  were  they  thus  committed? 
How  shall  she  deserve  the  name  of  the  spouse  of 
Christ,  if  she  endeavour  not  to  bring  up  her  own 
children  in  his  "  nurture  and  admonition  ?"  Ad- 
mitting the  children  of  believing  parents  to  be  her 
members,  the  right  to  instruct  and  watch  over 
them,  is  a  matter  of  course.  For  it  is  a  solecism 
and  an  absurdity  to  talk  of  a  society  which  has 
no  authority  over  its  own  members.  And  when 
we  establish  the  right,  we  establish  also  the  duty. 
The  power  is  given  to  be  employed.  It  is  a  talent 
for  which  the  master  will  demand  an  account.  If 
he  has  authorized  his  church  to  take  charge  of 
the  children  within  her  pale,  she  is  responsible  for 
the  manner  in  which  she  acquits  herself  of  the 
trust.     How  is  this  to  be  done  ? 

1st.  All  baptized  children,  (whom  by  their  bap- 
tism she  acknowledges  to  be  a  part  of  her  care,) 
are  to  be  instructed  by  her  authority,  and  under 
her  eye. 

There  is  a  domestic  training  which  it  is  her 
business  to  see  that  parents  give  their  children. 
But  she  has  an  interest  in  these  children  altoge- 


No.  VII.— Results,  181 

ther  her  own.  Her  ministers,  or  official  catechists, 
are,  in  her  name,  to  instill  into  them,  the  principles 
of  the  Christian  religion,  over  and  above  their  tuition 
at  home  ;  and  whether  their  parents  be  faithful  to 
them  or  not.  A  child  is  not  to  be  turned  off,  and 
left  a  prey  to  destruction,  because  its  parents  do 
not  shrink  from  the  crime  of  "  blood-guiltiness," 
even  guiltiness  of  the  blood  of  their  own  offspring. 
Means  are,  therefore,  to  be  used,  that  all  the  chil- 
dren of  a  congregation  attend  public  instruction  in 
the  doctrines  and  duties  of  religion,  as  an  ordinance 
of  Christ ;  and  to  have  the  sense  of  their  subjec- 
tion to  his  ordinances  incorporated  with  their  ear- 
liest habits  of  thinking.  No  church  can  neglect 
this  care  without  suffering :  no  church  has  ever 
fostered  it  without  abundant  recompense.  The 
most  intelligent,  sober,  staid,  active  Christians,  are 
usually  those  who  have  grown  up  under  the  ope- 
ration of  this  gentle  but  efficient  discipline. 

2d.  The  church  is  to  inspect  the  conduct  of  her 
youth. 

I  do  not  mean  that  she  is  to  encourage  hawkers 
of  scandal,  nor  to  entertain  legions  of  spies,  for 
their  benefit.  Not  that  she  is  to  put  on  that  dis- 
mal visage  which  petrifies  the  juvenile  heart ;  nor 
to  indulge  that  morose  inquisition  which  arraigns, 
as  a  crime,  every  burst  of  juvenile  cheerfulness. 
It  is  as  much  a  part  of  God's  natural  constitution 
that  youth  should  be  sprightly,  as  that  age  should 


182  Church  of  God. 

be  grave.  To  reduce  to  one  size  and  one  quality, 
all  the  decencies  of  life  in  all  its  periods,  is  the  at- 
tribute of  zeal  which  never  discriminates,  of  se- 
verity which  never  learns,  or  of  Pharisaism  which 
finds  a  righteousness  in  reprobating  enjoyments 
which  it  cannot  share. 

But,  after  every  proper  allowance  and  precau- 
tion, there  is  left  a  large  field  of  juvenile  conduct 
for  the  eye  of  the  church  to  explore.  Both  in  af- 
firming the  principles  of  rectitude,  and  in  resisting 
the  principles  of  evil,  she  may  and  she  ought  to 
do  much  for  her  youth. 

If  a  child  be  exemplary  in  filial  or  fraternal  af- 
fection ;  pure  in  behaviour  among  others ;  diligent 
in  learning  the  precious  truths  of  revelation ;  re- 
verential towards  the  ordinances  of  public  and 
private  Avorship;  fearful  of  sinning  against  God; 
it  is  no  small  encouragement  to  have  these  excel- 
lencies observed,  cherished,  and  honoured,  by 
those  who  bear  rule  in  the  church.  Timidity  sub- 
sides ;  bashfulness  is  attempered  into  modesty  ; 
the  ductile  inclination  grows  into  consistent  pur- 
pose ;  and  thus  "  little  ones"  are  brought  to  Jesus 
Christ,  and  prepared  for  occupying,  in  due  season, 
the  places  of  those  whose  gray  hairs  announce 
the  approach  of  that  hour  in  which  they  are  to  be 
numbered  with  them  who  have  died  in  faith. 

On  the  other  hand,  can  any  reflecting  person 
doubt,  that  the  seasonable  interposition  of  the 


No.  V1L— Results.  183 

church  of  God,  might  save  many  a  youth  from 
falling  a  victim  to  his  own  depravity,  or  to  the  de- 
pravity of  others  ?  Why  should  a  doubt  be  enter- 
tained on  the  subject  ?  Is  the  experiment  fairly 
tried  ?  Are  the  churches  in  the  habit  of  throwing 
themselves  in  between  ruin  and  the  youth  who 
have  not  openly  professed  religion  ?  Do  parents, 
on  the  failure  of  domestic  admonition,  ever  resort 
to  this  remedy  ?  Ought  they  not  to  do  it  ?  Why 
should  a  tender  and  solemn  remonstrance,  in  the 
name  of  the  living  God,  the  Creator  and  the  Judge 
of  all,  be  without  its  influence  in  recovering  an 
unpractised  sinner  from  the  errour  of  the  wicked? 
Why  should  not  an  authoritative  expostulation,  on 
the  part  of  the  church  of  God,  brought  home  to 
individual  feeling,  have  some  effect,  as  a  rational 
means,  in  prevailing  with  the  young  to  consider 
their  obligation  to  recognize  the  vows  made  over 
them  in  their  baptism  ?  There  are  more  trouble- 
some consciences  on  this  point,  among  our  youth, 
than  we,  perhaps,  imagine.  Why  should  they  not 
be  told,  that  continuance  in  carelessness,  or  aban- 
donment to  iniquity,  will  compel  the  church  of 
God  to  disown  them,  and  to  rank  them  with  those 
concerning  whom  she  has  no  promises  to  plead  ? 
Let  it  not  be  said  that  "  the  state  of  religious  so- 
ciety forbids  such  an  interference — that  parents 
and  children  would  spurn  at  it  as  an  encroach- 
ment upon   their   liberty — and   that   instead   of 


184  Church  of  God. 

gaining  our  youth,  it  would  drive  them,  at  once, 
into  the  camp  of  the  profane  ;" — at  least,  let  not 
these  things  be  said  without  facts  to  support  them. 
They  are  the  suggestions  of  fear,  unsanctioned  by 
experience.  No  doubt,  in  the  decayed  state  of 
Christian  order,  much  prudence  is  necessary  for 
its  revival :  but  the  necessity  of  prudence  cannot 
excuse  inaction.  It  is  very  possible,  also,  that 
some  young  saints  would  "  kick  against  the  pricks." 
But  the  same  objection  lies  against  the  faithful 
preaching  of  the  word ;  and  against  the  impartial 
use  of  discipline  toward  professors.  There  are 
weighty  reasons  why  a  judicious  extension  of 
church  authority  to  baptised  youth  in  general, 
would  not  be  so  fruitless  and  despicable  as  some 
suppose. 

First i  The  mere  power  of  opinion  which  it  would 
employ,  could  not  be  easily  resisted.  It  is  to  be 
remembered,  that  a  very  little  quantity  of  opinion 
goes  a  great  way  with  all  minds  which  have  not 
yet  acquired  self-stability ;  and  such  opinion  as  the 
Christian  church  can  at  all  times  command,  no 
man  living  can  disregard  with  impunity. 

Secondly,  In  many  instances,  this  interference 
would  combine  with  domestic  precept  and  exam- 
ple ;  and  how  far  their  united  forces  would  go, 
nothing  but  the  event  is  entitled  to  pronounce. 

Thirdly,  Dissolute  as  the  world  is,  and  disposed 
as  multitudes  are  to  scoff  at  every  thing  which 


No.  VIL— Results.  185 

bears  the  image  and  superscription  of  Jesus  Christ, 
it  will  be  no  recommendation  even  with  thought- 
less people,  that  a  young  person  fled  away  from 
the  voice  of  kindly  instruction;  much  less  that  he 
was  thrust  out  on  account  of  his  vices.  Some 
there  are,  who,  to  serve  the  present  hour,  would 
applaud  his  spirit ;  and,  on  the  first  disagreement 
would  upbraid  him  with  his  disgrace.  It  is  not  in 
human  nature  to  stand  easily  under  an  excommu- 
nication of  any  sort.  Exclusion,  for  faults,  from 
any  decent  society,  is,  and  ever  will  be,  a  stigma. 
Whoever  disbelieves  it,  has  only  to  try. 

Fourthly,  The  providence  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  his  control  over  the  hearts  and  affairs 
of  men,  are  especially  to  be  regarded.  Perhaps 
no  instance  can  be  shown  of  contempt  upon  the 
discipline  of  his  house  not  being  followed,  sooner 
or  later,  with  most  disastrous  consequences  to  the 
offender.  He  has  promised  to  own,  support,  and 
vindicate  it,  as  solemnly  as  he  ever  promised  to 
bless  the  gospel  of  his  grace.  If  more  stress  were 
laid  upon  his  agency  in  rendering  effectual  his  own 
institutions  ;  we  should  both  discharge  our  duty 
more  exactly,  and  see  it  crowned  with  greater 
success.  Let  the  churches  begin  to  look  after 
their  youth — let  them  commit  their  efforts  to  their 
master's  faithfulness.  It  will  be  time  enough 
to  complain  when  he  "  leaves  himself  without  a 
witness." 

Vol.  IV.  24 


186  Church  of  God. 

3d.  There  is  a  particular  class  of  children  to 
whom  the  church  owes  a  duty  which  she  too  fre- 
quently neglects — I  mean  orphans. 

Godly  parents  die;  and  their  little  ones  are 
scattered.  Scattered,  indeed,  they  often  must  be, 
but  forgotten  they  ought  not  to  be.  They  are  of- 
ten permitted  to  be  placed  in  families  where  they 
can  reap  no  religious  benefit.  All  responsibility  for 
them  seems  to  be  thrown  away,  and  given  to  the 
winds  with  the  last  breath  of  their  father  or  mo- 
ther. Thus  abandoned  by  the  church,  which 
ought  to  be  to  them  in  God's  stead,  and  when 
their  father  and  their  mother  forsake  them,  to  take 
them  up,  they  are  in  danger  of  being  lost  in  this 
world,  and  in  the  world  to  come.  I  speak  imme- 
diately of  those  who  have  no  private  dependence 
but  the  bounty  of  strangers.  Guilt  in  this  matter, 
there  certainly  is,  and  the  sooner  we  arise  to 
shake  it  out  of  our  skirts,  the  better  will  it  be  for 
ourselves,  and  our  own  children. 

Beside  the  conclusions  which  we  have  drawn 
from  the  general  Constitution  of  the  Church  of 
God,  relative  to  Christian  communion,  and  the 
rights  and  duties  mutually  subsisting  between  the 
Church  and  her  infant  members,  there  is  a 

Third  result  relative  to  her  officers ;  especially 
those  who  labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine.  It  is 
this  :  They  are  primarily  the  property  of  the 
church  catholic  \  and  only  in  a  secondary  and 


No.  VII.— Results,  187 

subordinate  sense,  the  property  of  a  particular  con- 
gregation. 

Throughout  the  christianized  world,  it  has  al- 
ways been  customary,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
to  remove  ministers  of  the  gospel  from  one  pastoral 
charge  to  another,  or  to  liberate  them  from  pasto- 
ral ties  altogether,  that  they  might  promote,  in  a 
different  form,  the  interests  of  the  Christian  cause. 
For  very  obvious  reasons,  these  removals  happen 
most  frequently  to  men  of  talents.  Nor  is  there  a 
single  thing  which  creates  more  uneasiness  and 
heart-burning.  It  is  perfectly  natural.  For  neither 
individuals  nor  societies  are  fond  of  parting  with 
what  they  consider  a  treasure.  Able,  faithful,  dis- 
creet ministers,  are  a  rare  blessing ;  and  it  would 
say  little  for  the  understanding,  and  less  for  the 
religion,  of  any  Church  which  should  lightly  re- 
linquish it.  We  must  further  admit,  that  a  wan- 
ton disruption  of  the  pastoral  ties  is  foolish,  un- 
warrantable, and  extensively  pernicious. 

Still  the  question  of  its  propriety  must  be  tried, 
not  by  examples  of  its  abuse,  nor  by  its  unpopula- 
rity, but  by  the  principles  on  which  it  is  founded, 
This  cannot  be  done,  without  examining  the  na- 
ture of  the  claim  which  a  particular  congregation 
has  to  her  minister. 

The  pastoral  connexion  is  commonly  compared 
to   a   matrimonial  connexion ;  which,  being  for 


188  Church  of  God, 

life,  the  popular  inference  is,  that  the  pastoral  con- 
nexion also  is  for  life. 

This  proves  nothing,  except  the  facility  with 
which  most  people  impose  upon  themselves  by 
sounds  and  similes.  A  simile  is  no  argument.  And 
the  simile  of  a  man  and  his  wife,  to  denote  a  pastor 
and  his  congregation,  is  peculiarly  unhappy.  If  it 
is  to  prescribe  the  duration  of  their  union,  it  must 
also  regulate  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  Now, 
as  married  persons  must  confine  their  matrimo- 
nial intercourse  to  themselves,  not  allowing  a  par- 
ticipation in  it  to  any  other,  this  simile,  working 
up  the  ministerial  relation  into  a  sort  of  pastoral 
matrimony,  would  render  it  absolutely  unlawful 
in  a  minister  to  hold  religious  communion  with 
any  other  people,  and  in  his  people  to  hold  reli- 
gious communion  with  any  other  minister.  Nor, 
if  a  minister's  just  maintenance  should  grow  in- 
convenient to  a  people's  finances,  or  he  should 
fall  into  disfavour,  even  without  any  charge  of 
misconduct,  would  they  think  it  sound  reasoning 
to  turn  upon  them  with  their  own  simile,  and  say, 
"  A  minister  and  his  people  are  as  husband  and 
wife.  A  wife  takes  her  husband  for  better  for 
worse  ;  so  did  you  take  your  minister ;  and  as  you 
took  him  you  must  keep  him.  The  plea  of  pover- 
ty or  disgust  is  of  no  avail ;  a  woman  is  not  to  quit 
her  husband  whenever  she  thinks  that  he  spends 
too  much  of  the  fortune  she  brought  him ;  nor  is 


No.  VII.— Results.  189 

she  to  run  away  from  him  merely  because  she 
does  not  like  him  any  longer,  or  has  a  fancy  for 
some  one  else.  This  is  no  better  than  downright 
adultery :  and  such  is  the  behaviour  of  a  congre- 
gation, who  has  grown  tired  of  a  minister,  and 
wishes  to  get  rid  of  him."  It  would  be  very  hard 
to  persuade  a  congregation  that  this  is  correct 
reasoning  ;  and  yet  it  is  exactly  such  reasoning 
as  we  hear  every  day  against  the  removal  of  a 
minister,  grounded  on  the  notion  of  something 
like  a  marriage  covenant  between  him  and  his 
charge.  The  reasoning  proceeds  from  feelings 
pretty  general  among  men,  prompting  them  to 
prefer  a  bargain  which  shall  be  all  on  one  side, 
and  that  side  their  own.  They  wish  to  have  the 
whole  comfort  without  risk  of  privations  on  the 
one  hand,  or  of  irksome  burdens  on  the  other.  It 
is  perfectly  equitable  in  their  eyes,  that  a  minister 
should  leave  them  to  better  their  situation;  but  to 
leave  them  in  order  to  better  his  own,  is  almost,  if 
not  altogether,  an  adulterous  desertion ;  and  even 
if  it  be  to  forward  upon  a  larger  scale,  and  with 
more  efficacy,  the  advantage  of  Christ's  kingdom, 
his  authoritative  removal  is  little,  if  at  all,  less 
than  robbery ! 

But  let  us  be  just.  They  are  not  the  people 
only  who  adopt  this  preposterous  reasoning. 
Ministers  have  too  frequently  fallen  into  the  same 
errour ;  and,  in  some  instances,  they  have  exactly 


190  Church  of  God, 

reversed  the  popular  conclusions ;  stating  it  as 
good  and  wholesome  doctrine,  that  a  minister 
should  have  it  in  his  power  to  retain  his  cure  as 
long  as  he  pleases;  and  to  resign  it  when  he 
pleases ;  but  should  by  no  means  be  subject  to  re- 
moval when  the  people  wish  it.  Thus,  in  their 
turn,  making  the  bargain  all  on  their  own  side. 
This  is  paltry  work  :  It  is,  on  both  sides,  a  calcu- 
lation fit  only  for  sharpers.  In  so  far  as  it  arises 
from  honest  opinion,  it  springs  out  of  a  radical 
mistake,  which  is  to  be  rectified  by  considering 
how  the  unity  of  the  visible  church  affects  minis- 
terial character  and  labours. 

The  mistake  is  this :  that  "  a  minister  and  his 
congregation  possess  each  other,  if  I  may  so  word 
it,  in  a  mutual  fee  simple — that  they  have  an  ex- 
clusive and  absolute  right  to  each  other;"  where- 
as no  such  possession,  no  such  right  does,  or  can, 
exist. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when  he  "  ascended  up 
on  high,  leading  captivity  captive,  gave  gifts  unto 
men.  And  he  gave  some,"  (i.  e.  some  whom  he 
gave  were,)  "  apostles  ;  and  some,  prophets ;  and 
some,  evangelists  ;  and  some,  pastors  and  teach- 
ers ;  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints ;  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry;  for  the  edifying  of  the  body 
of  Christ."  Eph.  iv. 

Here  ministers  of  the  gospel  are  said  to  be 
Christ's  ascension-gift  to  his  church !     But  what 


No.  VII.— Results.  191 

church  ?  Certainly  not  a  particular  congregation, 
for  the  gift  includes  ministers  who  never  could  be 
confined  to  so  limited  a  charge.  No  one  particu- 
lar congregation  ;  no,  nor  any  section  of  Chris- 
tians, though  containing  many  congregations, 
could  appropriate  to  themselves  the  labours  of  an 
apostle,  or  an  evangelist.  These  were,  beyond 
all  contradiction,  officers  of  the  church  catholic, 
or  of  the  church  visible.*  But  it  is  to  the  same 
church  that  Christ  has  given  the  ordinary  ministry, 
"  pastors  and  teachers."  They  are  included  in 
one  and  the  same  gift.  Therefore,  a  minister  be- 
longs primarily  and  immediately  to  the  church 
catholic ;  and  only  mediately,  that  is,  through  the 
medium  of  the  church  catholic,  is  assigned  to  a 
particular  congregation.  It  is,  of  course,  her  pro- 
vince and  duty  to  determine  how,  and  where,  he 
shall  be  employed.  The  only  rule  of  judgment  is, 
the  greatest  amount  of  benefit  which  may  accrue  from 
his  services  to  the  interests  of  the  Redeemers  kingdom. 
The  determination  of  this  point  must  be  confided 
to  such  a  portion  of  the  church  catholic,  assem- 
bled in  judicatory,  (since  it  is  impossible  for  the 
whole  to  meet,)  as  shall  secure,  according  to  hu- 
man probabilities,  a  wise  and  impartial  decision. 
To  lodge  such  a  power  in  the  hands  of  a  particu- 
lar congregation,  would  be  manifestly  improper ; 

*  See  page  1—26. 


192  Church  of  God. 

for  it  would  not  only  make  one  set  of  men  the 
judges  in  their  own  case,  and  in  their  neighbour's 
too,  but  would  subject  the  great  interests  of  the 
church  of  God  to  the  control  of  persons  unfur- 
nished with  sufficient  information,  often  impas- 
sioned, always  prepossessed  ;  and,  therefore,  in- 
capable of  "judging  righteous  judgment."  Mis- 
takes, and  improprieties  will,  no  doubt,  occur,  be 
the  power  where  it  may  :  because  perfection  is  to 
be  found  no  where.  Yet,  when  a  question  is  to 
be  tried  before  a  court  composed  of  representa- 
tives from  several  particular  churches,  having  much 
more  ability,  and  better  opportunities  of  informing 
themselves,  than  the  mass  of  any  congregation  can 
have :  being  also  free  from  that  selfish  bias  to 
which  the  best  minds  and  hearts  are  liable  from 
calculations  directly  affecting  themselves,  it  is  in 
as  fair  a  way  of  being  decided  well,  as  the  imper- 
fection of  man  admits.  When  such  a  court,  then, 
fixes  the  pastoral  relation  between  a  minister  and 
a  congregation,  it  does  not  surrender  him  up  ab- 
solutely to  them  ;  nor  wed  them  to  each  other  for 
life.  It  places  him  there,  because  it  believes  that 
his  labours  there  will  fee,  upon  the  whole,  most 
useful  to  the  church  at  large.  And  the  principle 
which  regulates  the  formation,  must  also  regulate 
the  continuance,  of  his  pastoral  relations.  He  is 
to  remain  so  long  as  the  church  of  God  shall  gain 
more  by  his  continuance  than  by  his  removal,  and 


No.  VIL— Results.  193 

no  longer.  Whenever  it  shall  clearly  appear  that 
his  labours  may  be  turned  to  better  account  by  his 
removal  than  by  his  continuance,  he  ought  to  be 
removed :  not,  however,  at  his  own  discretion,  or 
the  discretion  of  his  people,  but  upon  the  same 
careful  examination  by  the  church  representative, 
as  preceded  his  first  settlement.  We  repeat,  that 
it  would  be  unreasonable  and  unrighteous,  to  let 
an  individual  or  a  congregation  possess  the  pow- 
er of  sacrificing  to  their  narrow  gratification,  the 
interest  of  the  Christian  community.  Ministers, 
then,  must  be  in  that  situation  which  shall  render 
their  labours  of  the  greatest  utility.  They  are  or- 
dinarily joined  to  parochial  charges ;  because  this, 
upon  the  whole,  is  the  best  practical  system ;  and 
not  because  their  charges  have  an  exclusive  pro- 
perty in  them.  The  claims  of  the  church  at  large, 
always  supersede  the  claims  of  any  particular 
part ;  so  that  whatever  be  the  attachment  of  a 
people  to  their  minister,  or  of  a  minister  to  his 
people,  when  the  general  claim  is  set  up,  their  par- 
ticular feelings  must  give  way;  and  that  upon 
this  self-evident  truth,  that  the  whole  is  greater 
than  a  part.  Pursuing  the  same  reasoning,  we 
perceive,  that  whether  a  minister  shall  have  a  con- 
gregation or  not,  is  a  question  of  secondary  im- 
portance ;  and  is  to  be  answered  by  a  prudent  con- 
sideration of  the  previous  question, — whether  he 

Vol.  IV.  25 


194  Church  of  God. 

is  likely  to  be  more  extensively  useful  with  or  with- 
out a  congregation  ? 

That  removals  from  charges  where  men  are 
beloved  and  useful,  ought  not  to  be  rash  ;  ought 
not  to  take  place,  without  the  most  solid  reasons  ; 
ought,  in  all  cases,  to  be  managed  with  circumspec- 
tion and  with  dignity ;  that  the  very  uneasiness 
excited  by  such  removals,  ought  to  be  weighed  in 
the  balances  among  the  strong  reasons  against 
them  are  dictates  of  common  sense  and  equity ; 
and  no  wise  judicatory  will  ever  disregard  them. 
But  that  the  principle  is  sound — that  a  minister 
may  lawfully  be  removed  from  one  charge  to  ano- 
ther ;  or  from  one  species  of  labour  to  another, 
cannot  be  controverted,  without  tearing  up  the 
foundations  of  the  whole  church  of  God. 

Finally.  A  very  important  result  from  the  fore- 
going discussions  concerning  the  nature  of  the 
church  is,  that  no  form  of  church  government  can  be 
scriptural,  which  is  not  adapted  to  this  broad  and  mas- 
ter-principle,  that  the  visible  church  is  one. 

Her  external  organization  must  be  such  as  shall 
show  her  to  the  world,  as  a  living  body,  according 
to  the  apostle's  figure.  Eph.  iv.  12.  16.  She  must, 
therefore,  have  principles,  and  means,  of  common 
action.  The  whole  must  control  the  parts — She 
must  have  a  power  of  self-preservation,  which 
includes, 


No.  VII. — Results.  195 

1.  A  power  of  commanding  the  agency  of  any 
particular  member : 

2.  A  power  of  combining  the  agency  of  all  her 
members : 

3.  A  power  of  providing  for  her  nourishment 
and  health  : 

4.  A  power  of  expelling  impurities  and  corrup- 
tions. 

These  things  are  essential  to  her  organization 
according  to  the  description  given  of  her  in  the 
word  of  God.  We  may  have  occasion  to  illustrate 
them  more  particularly  hereafter  ;  we  close,  at 
present,  with  one  remark — that  a  number  of  par- 
ticular churches  not  united  in  mutual  dependence, 
and  not  furnished  with  a  principle  of  living  effi- 
ciency in  one  common  system,  so  as  to  bring  the 
strength  of  the  whole  to  operate  in  any  part,  or 
through  all  the  parts  collectively,  as  occasion  may 
require,  no  more  resemble  the  visible  church  of 
Christ,  than  the  limbs  of  the  human  body,  dissev- 
ered, and  not "  fitly  joined  together,  and  compacted 
by  that  which  every  joint  supplieth,  according  to 
the  effectual  working  in  the  measure  of  every 
part,"  resemble  a  healthy  man. 


197 


CHURCH  OF  GOD. 


No.  VIII. 
Officers. 

A  community  so  large,  and  yet  so  compact ; 
formed,  preserved,  and  perpetuated  with  so  much 
care ;  directed  to  so  high  an  end ;  and  furnished 
with  principles  of  such  universal  application,  as 
we  have  proved  the  church  of  God  to  be,  requires 
a  suitable  regimen.  God  is  the  God  of  order :  no 
order  can  be  kept  up  any  where  without  govern- 
ment ;  and  no  government  can  exist  without  offi- 
cers to  administer  it.  Our  next  inquiry,  there- 
fore, relates  to  the  officers  whom  Christ  hath  ap- 
pointed. 

In  the  Apostolical  church  were  the  following  : 
viz. 

1.  Apostles, — 1  Cor.  xii.  28.     Eph.  iv.  11, 

2.  Prophets, — Rom.  xii.  6.     1  Cor.  xii.  28 

Eph.iv.  11. 

3.  Evangelists, — Eph.  iv.  11. 


198  Church  of  God. 

4.  Pastors  and  teachers, — Ibid.    Acts  xiii.  1. 
who  ruled, \ 

who  also  laboured  in  wordand\  1  Tim.  v.  17. 
doctrine, 5 

5.  Elders,  who  "  ruled"  without  "  labouring 

in  word  and  doctrine," Ibid. 

6.  Deacons, Acts  vi.  1 — 6.     1.  Tim.  iii.  8. 

It  is  evident  that  the  great  object  of  all  these 

offices  was  the  religious  education  of  the  world. 
We  mean  that  they  were  intended  to  instruct 
mankind  in  the  knowledge  of  divine  truth  ;  to  in- 
spire them  with  pure  principles  and  spiritual  af- 
fections ;  to  form  their  individual  and  social  habits 
to  practical  holiness,  and  moral  order;  in  one 
word,  to  render  them  "  meet  for  the  inheritance 
of  the  saints  in  light." 

It  is  also  evident,  that  some  of  these  offices 
were  only  temporary.  Which  of  them  were  de- 
signed to  be  permanent,  and  in  what  form,  is  an 
inquiry  which  we  must  postpone  till  we  shall  have 
settled  a  previous  question. 

It  has  been,  and  still  is,  a  received  belief  among 
almost  all  who  profess  Christianity,  that  the  Re- 
deemer has  instituted  a  regular  ministry  to  be  per- 
petuated in  an  order  of  men  specially  set  apart 
and  commissioned  by  his  authority,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  inculcating  the  doctrines  and  duties  of 
Christianity ;  and  that  no  man  may  lawfully  en- 


No.  VIII.— Officers.  199 

ter  upon  its  functions  without  an  official  warrant 
from  them  who  are  themselves  already  in  office. 

Others  contend  that  this  whole  system  is  of  hu- 
man origin  ;  is  founded  either  in  ignorance  or  in 
fraud ;  and  militates  directly  against  the  nature 
and  privileges  of  the  Christian  church. 

Others  again,  attempt  a  middle  course  ;  allow- 
ing the  general  principle  of  a  ministry,  but  leaving 
the  application  of  it  at  large  ;  and  conceiving  the 
exercise  of  gifts  with  the  approbation  of  the 
church,  that  is,  a  number  of  professing  Christians 
met  together  for  public  worship,  to  be  a  valid  and 
sufficient  call. 

To  clear  up  this  matter,  let  us  consider, 

1.  What  the  scriptures  have  determined  con- 
cerning the  fact  in  dispute  :  and 

2.  What  are  the  uses,  qualifications,  and  mode 
of  preserving,  a  standing  ministry. 

1.  As  to  the  fact  These  things  are  worthy  of 
regard. 

1st.  It  is  undeniable,  that  from  the  time  God  set 
up  his  church  in  her  organized  form,  (and  even 
before,)  until  the  Christian  dispensation,  there 
was  an  order  of  men  consecrated,  by  his  own  ap- 
pointment, to  the  exclusive  work  of  directing  her 
worship,  and  presiding  oyer  her  interests :  inso- 
much that  no  man,  but  one  of  themselves,  not 
even  a  crowned  head,  might  meddle  with  their 
functions;  nor   undertake,  in  any  way,  to  be  a 


200  Church  of  God. 

public  teacher  of  religion,  without  an  immediate 
call  from  heaven  attested  by  miraculous  evidence. 
2d.  The  ancient  prophets,  "  who  spake  as  they 
were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,"  foretold  that  the 
same  principle  should  be  acted  upon  in  the  days  of 
the  Messiah.  Thus  in  Isa.  lxvi.  21.  I  will  also  take 
of  them  for  priests  and  for  levites,  saith  Jeho- 
vah— and  Dan.  xiii.  3.  They  that  be  wise  shall 
shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that 
turn  many  to  righteousness,  as  the  stars  for  ever  and 
ever.  The  word  rendered  "  wise,"  signifies  teach- 
ers," whose  business,  and,  according  as  they  are 
blessed  of  God,  whose  happiness,  it  is  to  turn  men 
unto  righteousness.  Our  Lord  himself  has  used 
the  term  in  the  same  sense,  as  indeed  it  was  a 
very  common  signification  among  the  people  of 
the  East :  Behold  I  send  you  prophets,  and  wise  men, 
and  scribes.  Matt,  xxiii.  34.  The  force  of  the  argu- 
ment is,  that  these  predictions  contemplate  events 
which  were  to  take  place  in  the  Christian  econo- 
my ;  and  without  which  they  could  not  be  fulfilled. 
The  passage  from  Isaiah  refers  to  the  "  new  hea- 
vens and  the  new  earth"  which  the  Lord  should 
make  :  consequently,  to  New  Testament  times  : 
And  not  only  so,  but  to  their  most  illustrious  pe- 
riod— the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  the  glory 
of  the  latter  day.  "  Priests  and  Levites,"  to  per- 
form services  similar  to  those  under  the  old  eco- 
nomy, there  can  be  none ;  because  the  end  of 


No.  VIIL— Officers.  201 

those  services  being  accomplished,  their  further 
continuance  is  impossible ;  and  the  economy  itself 
has  vanished  away.  Yet  the  prediction  and  the 
promise  must  be  fulfilled  :  and  can  mean  nothing 
less  than  this,  that  as  the  Priests  and  the  Levites 
were  appointed  of  God  to  minister  in  holy  things 
during  the  former  dispensation,  and  in  a  manner 
suited  to  its  peculiar  character ;  so  there  should 
be  appointed  of  God,  under  the  new  dispensation, 
a  ministry  corresponding  to  its  peculiar  character; 
which  ministry  should  flourish  even  in  those  days 
when  the  most  copious  effusions  of  the  divine 
Spirit  should  seem  to  render  it  the  least  necessary. 
And  this  is  a  full  answer  to  the  objection  brought 
from  the  promise  that  all  Zion's  children  shall  be 
taught  of  God — and  they  shall  teach  no  more  every 
man  his  neighbour,  and  every  man  his  brother,  saying, 
"  know  the  Lord ;"  for  they  shall  all  know  me  from  the 
least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the  Lord. 
Jer.  xxxi.  34. 

We  say  that  an  objection  drawn  from  such  pas- 
sages against  a  Christian  ministry,  as  regular  and 
exclusive  as  the  ministry  of  the  Levitical  Law,  is 
of  no  weight : 

For  in  the  first,  place,  they  are  not  more  full  and 

explicit  than  those  passages  which  promise  such 

a  ministry :  and  as  both  are  true,  no  interpretation 

can  be  admitted  of  one,  which  shall  contradict  the 

other. 
Vol.  IV.  26 


202  Church  of  God. 

Secondly,  If  the  objection  is  well-founded,  it 
sweeps  away  not  only  a  standing  ministry ;  but  all 
religious  instruction  in  every  shape :  prohibiting 
even  parents  to  "  bring  up  their  children  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord ;"  and  putting 
under  a  bushel  the  very  light  of  the  "  gifted  breth- 
ren"— which  would  be  rather  lamentable. 

Thirdly,  There  is  the  most  perfect  consistency 
between  a  great  diffusion  of  religious  light,  and 
great  use  of  religious  teachers.  We  find,  by  ex- 
perience, that  the  most  enlightened  Christians  do 
most  honour  and  value  an  enlightened  ministry. 
The  ignorant,  and  the  vain  are  most  ready  to  sup- 
pose that  they  need  no  instruction.  Give  instruc- 
tion to  a  wise  man,  and  he  will  be  yet  wiser  ;  teach  a 
just  man,  and  he  will  increase  in  learning,  (Prov.  ix. 
9.)  But,  seest  thou  a  man  wise  in  his  own  conceit  ? 
there  is  more  hope  of  a  fool  than  of  him,  (xxvi.  1 2.) 
The  "principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places," 
were  no  novices  in  the  knowledge  of  God.  But 
when  they  wished  to  obtain  still  larger  views  of  his 
"  manifold  wisdom."  they  did  not  blush  to  take  a 
lesson  from  the  lips  of  Paul,  (Eph.  iii.  10.) 

There  is  no  difficulty  in  the  appellation  of 
"  Priests  and  Levites ;"  seeing  it  was  customary 
with  the  prophets  to  speak  of  New  Testament 
blessings  in  Old  Testament  style  ;  and  not  prac- 
ticable for  them  to  use  any  other,  and  be  sufficient- 
ly intelligible. 


No.  V1IL— Officers.  203 

3d.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  delivered  their  com- 
mission to  his  apostles  in  terms  which  necessarily 
imply  a  perpetual  and  regularly  successive  minis- 
try. Go  ye*  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  :  Teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you  ;  and,  lo,  lam  with 
you  alway,  even  unto  the  eni>  of  the  world,  Matt, 
xxviii.  19. 

That  this  command  and  promise  though  imme- 
diately addressed,  were  not  limited,  to  the  apos- 
tles, is  so  obvious  as  almost  to  shame  an  argu- 
ment. But  since  we  are  sometimes  required  to 
prove  that  two  and  two  make  four,  we  remark, 

First.  That  as  the  command  is  to  teach  all  na- 
tions ;  it  must  spread  as  far,  and  last  as  long  as 
nations  shall  be  found.  It  is  therefore  a  command 
to  make  the  Christian  religion  universal ;  and  to 
perpetuate  it  from  generation  to  generation. 

Secondly.  That  as  the  Apostles  were  shortly  to 
"  put  off  their  tabernacles,"  the  command  could 
not  possibly  be  fulfilled  by  them.  It  runs  parallel 
with  the  existence  of  nations.  It  must,  therefore, 
be  executed  by  others,  in  every  age,  who  are  to 
carry  on  the  work  which  the  apostles  begun ;  and 
who,  by  the  very  terms  of  the  commandment,  are 
identified  with  them  in  the  general  spirit  of  their 
commission,  which  is,  to  preach  the  doctrines, 


204  Church  of  God. 

enforce  the  precepts,  and  administer  the  ordi- 
nances, of  Jesus  Christ. 

Thirdly.  That  the  promise,  "  I  am  with  you  al- 
way,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,"  cannot  with- 
out palpable  absurdity,  be  restricted  to  the  per- 
sons, nor  to  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  Closely 
rendered  it  is,  "  I  am  with  you  always,  even  until 
the  consummation  of  the  age"  i.  e.  "  dispensation."* 
But  what  age  ?  what  dispensation  ?  Either  the 
Jewish,  or  the  Christian. 

Not  the  Jewish,  certainly.  It  would  be  very 
strange  if  the  grace  of  the  Redeemers  promise 
should  abide  with  his  apostles  till  the  end  of  the 
old  dispensation,  and  run  out  exactly  at  the  mo- 
ment when  it  was  wanted  for  the  new  one.  The 
"  world,"  therefore,  is  that  "  world"  which  Paul 
calls  "  the  world  to  come,"  (Heb.  ii.  5.)  i.  e.  the 
Christian  dispensation.  "  I  have  just  introduced 
it,"  says  the  master,  "  and  I  will  be  with  you  to 
the  close  of  it."  The  promise,  then,  as  well  as  the 
precept,  reaches  to  the  end  of  time ;  and,  like  the 
precept,  embraces  a  successive  ministry  to  whom 
our  Lord  Jesus  has  engaged  the  continuance  of 
his  gracious  presence. 

4th.  The  Apostles  themselves  acted  upon  the 
principle  of  a  perpetual  ministry.  «  They  ordain- 
ed Presbyters  in  every  church,"  (Acts  xiv.  23.) 
Paul  has  left,  in  his  epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus, 

*  'Ews  rr\s  rfuvreXsiag  <rou  a«wvo£. 


No.  Vlll.— Officers.  205 

as  a  part  of  the  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  partic- 
ular directions  for  the  choice  of  Bishops  or  Pres- 
byters and  deacons  :  And  in  his  epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, (ch.  xiii.  17.)  he  charges  these  widely  scat- 
tered disciples,  to  obey  their  spiritual  rulers,  un- 
der this  precise  idea  that  they  watch,  says  he, /or 
your  souls  as  they  that  must  give  account. 

5th.  The  New  Testament  abounds  with  predic- 
tions and  warnings  of  apostacy  in  the  ministers  of 
religion ;  which  of  course,  implies  the  continuance 
of  a  ministry. 

6th.  The  book  of  Revelation  expressly  recog- 
nizes the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel,  in  times  yet  to 
come,  by  the  instrumentality  of  a  public  ministry, 
(ch.  xiv.  6.) 

Since,  therefore,  the  Head  of  the  church  institu- 
ted a  regular  ministry  in  his  church  thousands  of 
years  ago — since  he  directed  his  prophets  to  fore- 
tell its  existence  under  the  new  dispensation — 
since  he  gave  to  his  apostles  a  commission  which 
necessarily  supposes  its  perpetuity — since  these 
apostles  themselves  acted  upon  that  principle  in 
erecting  churches — since  the  rule  of  faith  has 
given  instructions  to  guide  its  application — since 
the  prophetic  spirit  in  the  last  of  the  apostles  has 
uttered  oracles  which  are  founded  upon  it — no 
conclusion  is  more  safe  and  irrefragable  than  this; 
that  a  regular,  standing  ministry  is  an  essential 
constituent  of  the  church  of  God. 


206  Church  of  God. 

This  point  settled,  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
has  instituted  a  ministry  which  is  to  be  coeval  with 
his  church,  we  now  proceed 

2.  To  consider  the  uses,  qualifications,  and 
mode  of  preserving,  a  standing  ministry. 

1st.  Its  uses. 

The  common  sense  of  mankind,  in  all  ages  and 
countries,  has  taught  them,  that  no  system  of  re- 
ligion can  be  maintained  and  perpetuated,  without 
an  order  of  religious  teachers.  Search  the  world 
over,  and  you  shall  not  find  a  nation,  civilized  or 
savage,  without  such  an  order.  The  truth  or 
falsehood  of  the  religious  system  has  no  imme- 
diate connexion  with  this  argument.  It  is  found- 
ed upon  a  principle  which  includes  the  cardinal 
secret  of  human  improvement — the  division  of  la- 
bour. In  other  words,  that  to  ensure  excellence  in 
any  occupation  whatever,  it  must  be  confined  to 
a  particular  class  of  men,  and  these  men  must  be 
confined  to  it.  Set  ten  individuals  to  work  at  ten 
different  species  of  industry,  so  that  every  one 
shall  be  employed  by  turns  upon  all  the  ten ;  let 
other  ten  work  at  the  very  same  things,  but  dis- 
tribute them  so  as  that  each  of  the  ten  shall  have  his 
appropriate  employment,  never  intermeddling  with 
the  other  nine  ;  and  two  effects  will  follow — First, 
The  produce  of  each  particular  species  of  industry 
will  be  incomparably  better ;  and,  Secondly,  The 
aggregate  produce  of  all  will  be  incomparably 


No.  VIII. — Ministry. — Uses.  207 

greater,  upon  the  second  plan  than  upon  the  first. 
That  is,  the  work  performed  in  the  ten  branches 
of  industry  by  ten  men,  each  one  being  limited  to 
a  particular  branch,  will  be  incomparably  superi- 
our  in  quality  and  quantity,  to  the  work  performed 
by  the  same  number  of  hands  labouring  promis- 
cuously in  all  the  branches.  Whoever  disputes 
this  position,  has  yet  to  learn  the  first  letter  in  the 
alphabet  of  human  experience.  Apply  this  to  the 
church  of  God.  The  religious  cultivation  of  a 
people  upon  the  principles  of  revelation,  furnishes 
matter  not  only  for  a  separate  calling;  but  for  a 
calling  which  requires  subdivision. 

The  rules  of  faith  and  duty  are  comprised  in  a 
miscellaneous  volume,  the  different  parts  of  which 
are  to  be  studied,  compared,  explained,  enforced. 
This  is  not  the  work  of  a  novice  ;  of  an  occa- 
sional exhorter;  of  one  who  spends  six  days  of 
the  week  in  a  secular  employment ;  and  comes 
forth  on  the  sabbath  to  vent  his  babblings  under 
the  name  of  preaching.  Talent,  learning,  and 
labour,  have  found  the  week  short  enough  for  the 
right  preparation  of  a  people's  spiritual  food,  and 
the  discharge  of  other  ministerial  functions.  In 
proportion  as  intellect  is  strong,  knowledge  deep, 
and  the  habit  of  application  vigorous,  is  a  sense  of 
the  ministerial  trust  impressive  and  awful.  Fee- 
bleness of  mind,  and  the  conceit  of  ignorance, 


203  Church  of  God. 

make  it  sit  light  upon  the  heart,  and  frustrate 
some  of  its  noblest  effects. 

Were  we  not  accustomed  to  absurdities,  we 
should  think  it  unaccountable,  that,  while  the  edu- 
cation of  children  is  an  exclusive  occupation,  the 
education  and  direction  of  children  and  men  both, 
should  ever  be  merely  an  incidental  matter  j  and 
be  left  to  the  chance-medley  of  a  fugitive  hour! 
Had  Christianity  set  out  upon  this  maxim,  she  had 
never  reached  the  age  of  one  hundred  years.  Her 
divine  head  did  not  commit  her,  for  a  single  day, 
to  such  irregular  and  incompetent  guidance. 
Those  things  which,  in  later  times,  are  the  fruit  of 
patient  and  painful  investigation,  were,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  her  career,  in  the  East,  open  to  every 
eye  and  familiar  to  every  mind.  Yet  her  teachers 
wrere  a  separate  order,  as  the  very  face  of  her  his- 
tory in  the  New  Testament  shows.  If  Timothy, 
who  was  an  extraordinary  officer,  a  native  of  those 
regions  from  which  the  scriptural  allusions  and 
illustrations  are  taken ;  a  disciple,  too,  of  an  in- 
spired master,  was  enjoined  to  "  give  himself  to 
reading,  to  exhortation,  to  doctrine ;"  if  he  was  not 
to  neglect,  but  to  stir  up  the  "  gift  which  was  in 
him,  which  was  given  him  by  prophecy,  with  the 
laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery"-— If  he 
was  to  meditate  upon  these  things  ;  to  give  him- 
self wholly  to  them  ;  that  his  profiting  might  ap- 
pear to  all ;"  how  can  equal  diligence  and  appli- 


No.  VUl.— Ministry.— Uses.  209 

cation  be  dispensed  with  in  others  who  have  to 
encounter  much  greater  difficulties  without  the 
same  advantage?  How  dare  men,  not  possessing 
the  hundredth  part  of  the  information  necessary  to 
elucidate  a  single  chapter  of  the  Bible,  which 
happens  to  contain  matter  beyond  the  simplest 
rudiments  of  Christianity,  how  do  they  dare,  under 
such  circumstances,  to  ascend  the  pulpit  as  ex- 
pounders of  "  the  oracles  of  the  living  God  ?"  If 
"  the  priest's  lips  must  keep  knowledge,  because 
he  is  the  messenger  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,"  how 
shall  the  crude  and  undisciplined  mind  "  bring 
forth  things  new  and  old  ?"  It  is  not  possible ;  the 
constitution  of  God's  world  forbids,  that  a  man 
who  is  busied  six  days  out  of  seven,  in  mechani- 
cal, commercial,  or  other  secular  toil,  should  have 
his  intellect  trained  to  the  immensely  important 
and  comprehensive  duty  of  instructing  his  fellow- 
men  in  the  will  of  God,  and  the  science  of  happi- 
ness. If  the  diffusion  of  religious  light;  if  the 
formation  of  the  moral  habits  of  a  community; 
if  the  prevention  and  suppression  of  errour  and 
vice ;  if  the  consolation  of  the  afflicted  ;  if  the 
administration  of  ordinances  designed  of  God  as 
means  of  eternal  life,  do  not  demand  an  entire  de- 
votedness  of  those  to  whom  they  are  intrusted, 
nothing  can. 

It  is  vain  and  foolish  to  dissemble  facts.  All 
sound  exposition  of  the  scriptures ;   i.  e.  all  the 

Vol.  IV.  27 


210  Church  of  God. 

pure  and  steady  light  of  truth  which  shines  in  the 
churches,  has  been  the  work  of  men  thus  devoted. 
The  discourses  of  others  are,  for  the  most  part, 
mere  shreds  pilfered  from  the  webs  woven  by  that 
industry,  learning,  and  talent,  which  they  affect 
to  undervalue.  That  usurpation  of  the  sacred 
office,  termed  lay -preaching,  now  grown  so  com- 
mon, cannot  fail,  unless  a  miracle  should,  invert 
the  course  of  nature,  to  degrade,  and  if  it  become 
general,  to  destroy,  the  ministry  of  reconciliation. 
The  enemy  could  desire  nothing  more  noxious  to 
Christianity,  than  gradually  to  expel  all  cultivated 
talent  from  her  pulpits ;  and  to  throw  her  inter- 
ests into  the  hands  of  men  self-approved,  and  self- 
sent.  There  is,  indeed,  an  apology,  which,  though 
insufficient,  cannot  be  denied  to  have  a  founda- 
tion. Shrewd  men,  even  in  vulgar  life,  hear 
preachers,  who,  in  the  cant  prase,  have  been  reg- 
ularly bred,  utter  very  small  discourse ;  confine 
their  lucubrations  to  a  few  plain  points,  repeat  the 
same  things  in  the  same  way,  and  that  none  of 
the  best,  until  every  person  of  a  tolerably  retentive 
memory,  can  tell  pretty  nearly  beforehand,  what 
"  entertainment"  is  to  be  expected.  With  such 
facts  habitually  before  them,  they  learn  to  ima- 
gine that  the  ministry  is  no  mighty  affair;  they 
say,  and  they  say  truly,  that  "  they  can  preach  as 
well  themselves  ;"  and  the  next  step  is  to  try.  The 
people  perceive  no  great  superiority  or  inferiority; 


No.  VIII. — Ministry. — Uses.  211 

and  why  should  they  maintain  a  man  for  giving 
them  instruction  of  no  better  quality,  than  they 
can  get  for  little  or  nothing  ?  All  this  is  natural ; 
and  more,  it  is  reasonable.  Why,  indeed?  Let 
us  not  pretend  to  dispute  what  the  world  knows 
to  be  true.  Let  us  not  shut  our  eyes  upon  our 
own  disgrace,  and  the  ruin  of  the  Christian  cause. 

Pudet  hcec  opprobria!  We  have  ample  ground 
for  humiliation.  There  are  many,  many  "  regu- 
larly bred"  clergy,  who  are  much  fitter  to  make 
shoes,  or  buttons,  or  baskets,  than  to  make  ser- 
mons. No  disrespect  to  any  branch  of  mechan- 
ical industry ;  but  every  thing  in  its  place.  No 
men  can  be  more  out  of  place,  than  multitudes 
who  are  in  the  ministry.  It  was  a  sad  mistake 
which  caused  them  to  stray  into  the  pulpit.  How 
has  this  happened  ?  By  what  fatal  perversion  has 
the  province  of  instructing  mankind  in  things  per- 
taining to  God  and  to  eternity,  fallen  so  frequently 
into  the  hands  of  the  ignorant  and  stupid?  And 
why,  when  young  men,  neither  stupid  nor  ignorant, 
enter  upon  it,  does  the  progress  of  their  ministry 
so  little  correspond  with  its  original  promise  ? 

There  are  two  prominent  reasons. 

(1.)  The  miserable  provision  for  their  temporal 
support. 

When  men  consecrate  themselves  to  the  reli- 
gious weal  of  a  people,  and  do,  by  that  act,  forego 
the  opportunities  open  to  all  others,  of  providing 


212  Church  of  God. 

for  themselves  and  their  families,  a  competent 
maintenance  is  the  least  remuneration  which  they 
have  a  right  to  claim.  It  is  the  dictate  of  com- 
mon sense,  common  justice,  and  common  huma- 
nity. It  is  also  the  express  commandment  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But,  notwithstanding  these 
considerations,  the  ministry  is  little  better  than  a 
starving  profession.  Not  one  man  in  twenty,  were 
he  compelled  to  live  upon  the  salary  allowed  by 
his  congregation,  could  escape  from  beggary  and 
rags.  The  certain  effect  is,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
deter  young  men  of  respectable  talents  from  the 
ministry  altogether ;  and,  on  the  other,  to  discour- 
age, depress  and  finally  to  ruin  those  who  are  in 
it  already. 

That  degree  of  talent  which  fits  one,  so  far  as 
intellectual  endowments  go,  for  a  useful  minister 
of  the  Gospel,  is  much  rarer  than  many  seem  to 
imagine;  and,  humanly  speaking, has  its  temporal 
prosperity  in  its  own  power.  When  other  pursuits 
invite  by  the  promise  of  not  only  a  maintenance, 
but  of  gain,  and  even  of  opulence,  it  is  idle,  it  is 
unreasonable,  to  hope  that  youth  of  talents,  with- 
out fortune,  whatever  be  their  piety,  will  serve  the 
church  of  God  at  the  expense  of  devoting  them- 
selves to  infallible  penury,  and  all  the  wretchedness 
which  belongs  to  it.  They  may  desire,  they  may 
wish;  and,  in  some  instances,  from  that  simplicity 
which  never  calculates  or  which  flatters  itself  that 


No.  VIII.— Ministry.— Uses.  213 

something  favourable  "  will  turn  up,"  they  may 
venture :  but  in  general,  they  must  turn  away  with 
a  sigh  from  the  employment  which,  of  all  others, 
their  hearts  most  long  after.  Let  us  not  hear  of 
self-denial,  spiritual-mindedness,  and  a  heroic  indif- 
ference to  worldly  things,  as  characteristic  of  the 
true  minister  of  Christ.  Self-denial  does  not  mean 
starving.  The  spirituality  of  the  father  will  not 
stop  the  cravings  of  his  children  when  they  cry 
for  food ;  nor  is  there  any  heroism  in  preferring 
tatters  and  a  hovel  to  decent  clothing  and  lodg- 
ing, when  they  may  be  had.  It  is  very  convenient, 
no  doubt,  for  men  who  are  adding  house  to  house, 
field  to  field,  thousand  to  thousand,  to  harangue, 
in  a  religious  style,  on  the  necessity  of  a  minister's 
imitating  his  master,  "  who  had  not  where  to  lay 
his  head ;"  when  the  practical  inference  from  all 
this  is  in  favour  of  their  own  pockets.  They  are 
wonderfully  concerned  for  spirituality  and  self- 
denial  to  be  practised  by  their  ministers;  but  as 
to  their  own  share  of  these  virtues;  as  to  their 
parting  with  a  pittance  of  their  pelf  to  render  him 
comfortable — why — that  is  another  affair.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  wicked  forms  of  hypocrisy  to 
plead  for  the  cultivation  of  a  minister's  heavenly- 
mindedness,  by  way  of  an  apology  for  cheating 
him  out  of  his  bread.  The  sin  of  the  neglect 
complained  of  is  not  equally  gross  in  all.  In  some 
it  proceeds  from  thoughtlessness  ;  in  others  from 


214  Church  of  God. 

incapacity  to  make  a  right  estimate  ;  but  in  most, 
it  is  the  fruit  of  downright  covetousness.  There 
has  been,  on  this  subject,  an  absurd  squeamishness 
in  those  whom  the  Lord  has  authorized  to  "  live 
by  the  gospel."  They  have  borne,  and  forborne ; 
they  have  submitted  to  every  species  of  sacrifice 
rather  than  disoblige  their  people ;  and  their  only 
reward  has  been  an  accumulation  of  injuries  and 
cold-blooded  contempt.  It  is  time  for  them  to 
claim  their  due  in  a  modest,  but  manly  tone  ;  and 
throw  the  fearful  responsibility  of  expelling  an 
enlightened  ministry  from  the  church  upon  those 
who  are  able,  but  not  willing,  to  support  it  honour- 
ably. We  say  an  "enlightened"  ministry.  For 
we  have  no  conception  that  niggardly  provision 
will  soon  strip  her  of  every  thing  in  the  shape  of 
a  minister.  You  cannot  place  the  pecuniary 
recompense  so  low,  as  that  it  shall  not  be  an  ob- 
ject for  somebody.  Fix  your  salaries  at  50  dollars 
a-year,  and  you  shall  not  want  candidates.  But 
then  they  will  be  fifty-dollar-men.  All  genius,  all 
learning,  all  high  character,  all  capacity  for  exten- 
sive usefulness,  will  be  swept  away ;  and  rudeness, 
ignorance,  impudence,  and  vulgarity,  will  become 
the  religious  directors  of  the  nation.  The  man 
is  blind  who  does  not  see  matters  fast  hastening 
to  this  issue  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  mean  time,  such  ministers  as  are  better 
qualified  for  their  stations,  are  not  only  decreasing 


No.  VIII.— Ministry .— Uses.  2 1 5 

in  proportion  to  the  population,  but  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, are  prohibited  from  cultivating  the  pow- 
ers which  they  possess.  Remote  from  literary  so- 
ciety ;  without  libraries  ;  without  leisure  to  use 
what  books  they  have  ;  distracted  with  anxiety 
for  their  immediate  subsistence ;  doomed  to  the 
plough  or  some  other  secular  business,  to  keep 
themselves  fed  and  clothed,  their  intellect  becomes 
enfeebled ;  their  acquisitions  are  dissipated ;  their 
ministry  grows  barren  ;  their  people  indifferent ; 
and  the  solid  interests  of  Christianity  are  gradual- 
ly, but  effectually,  undermined.  Let  the  churches 
be  warned.  They  have  long  slept  on  the  edge  of 
a  precipice  ;  the  ground  is  caving  in  below  them; 
and  still  they  are  not  aware.  Not  a  place  of  any 
importance  is  to  be  filled  without  the  utmost  dif- 
ficulty. The  search  must  be  made  from  Dan  to 
Beersheeba;  often, very  often, unsuccessfully;  and 
when  successful  it  is  only  enriching  one  church  by 
the  robbery  of  another.  The  population  of  our 
country  is  increasing  with  unexampled  rapidity ; 
very  incompetent  means  are  used  to  furnish  an  ef- 
ficient ministry ;  and  the  people  themselves  are 
throwing  the  most  fatal  discouragement  in  the 
way.  All  denominations  seem  to  be  engaged  in  a 
practical  conspiracy  to  starve  Christianity  out  of 
the  land.  Let  them  tremble  at  their  deeds ;  let 
their  loins  be  loosed,  and  their  knees  smite  to- 


216  Church  of  God. 

gether,  at  the  bare  possibility  that  they  MAY 
SUCCEED. 

But  it  is  not  the  people  only  who  are  in  fault ; 
for, 

(2.)  Much  of  the  guilt  of  decayed  Christianity 
lies  at  the  doors  of  the  ministers  and  judicatories 
of  the  church. 

It  is  not  arguing  for  the  divine  right  of  a  stated 
ministry;  it  is  not  boasting  about  the  excellence 
of  "  our  church  ;"  it  is  not  lamenting  over  the  su- 
pineness  of  the  public,  that  will  cure  the  evil.  It 
is  the  procuring  a  ministry  which  shall  render  atten- 
dance upon  their  ministrations  the  interest  of  both  the 
understanding  and  the  heart.  Without  this,  every 
effort  is  vain:  and  this  belongs  to  Christian  judi- 
catories. Let  the  world  see  and  feel  that  there 
is  an  immense  superiority  of  the  regular  over  an 
irregular  ministry,  and  there  will  be  no  more  lay- 
preaching  ;  nor  so  much  difficulty  in  getting  a  de- 
cent support.  But  it  cannot  be  concealed,  that 
little  as  congregations  give,  they  often  give  to  the 
uttermost  farthing,  "  for  value  received."  The 
mischief  is,  that  the  rule  of  abridgment  becomes 
general,  and  the  "  workman  who  needeth  not  to 
be  ashamed,"  must  share  the  fate  of  him  who  is 
no  workman  at  all.  Ministers  have  themselves  to 
blame  for  much  of  this  evil.  They  have  lowered 
the  standard  of  ministerial  qualifications.  They 
usher  into  their  high  office  men  who  have  neither 


No.  V1IL— Ministry.— Uses.  217 

head  nor  hands  for  any  thing  else.  The  apostolic 
directions,  (in  1  Tim.  3.)  are  almost  totally  disre- 
garded. Instead  of  "  laying  their  hands  suddenly 
on  no  man,"  they  have  been  too  much  in  the  habit 
of  laying  hands  upon  every  one  they  can  find — 
novice  or  no  novice — fit  to  teach  or  unfit — able  to 
govern  or  unable  ;  all  are  accepted — nothing,  or 
next  to  nothing,  is  refused.  An  absurd  tender- 
ness ;  a  fear  of  hurting  the  feelings  of  a  young 
man  or  of  his  friends  ;  an  infatuated  haste  to 
meet  "  the  wants  of  the  churches ;"  has  poured 
fourth  a  stream  of  ignorance  and  incapacity, 
which  now  threatens  to  sweep  away  the  harvest 
it  was  designed  to  water.  In  the  degradation  of 
the  pulpit ;  in  the  butchery  of  the  scriptures ;  in 
the  defaced  beauty,  and  tottering  pillars  of  the 
Christian  fabric,  is  to  be  seen  the  reward  of  timid 
indulgence  and  chimerical  hope.  If  the  ministry, 
as  a  public  order,  is  to  regain  its  credit,  its  own 
mismanagement  must  be  radically  cured. 


219 


CHURCH  OF  GOD. 


No.  IX. 
Ministry. — Qualifications. 


The  uses  of  the  Christian  ministry,  which  was 
our  first  point,  are,  in  several  respects,  so  blended 
with  its  qualifications,  which  is  our 

2d  point;  that  we  cannot  treat  of  the  one  with- 
out demonstrating  the  other. 

It  is  the  business  of  a  Christian  minister  to  in- 
struct his  people  in  what  they  are  to  believe  con- 
cerning God,  and  what  duty  God  requires  of  them. 
His  first  qualification,  therefore,  is  piety. 

We  are  sinners.  The  characteristic  principle 
in  the  religion  of  sinners,  that,  without  which  it  is 
absolutely  worthless  to  them,  is  salvation  by  a 
redeemer.  Remove  this — take  away  the  incar- 
nation and  atonement  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
give  us  any  thing  as  the  ground  of  our  hope  but 
redemption  through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins 
according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace,  and  there  is  no 
more  Christianity.     Now  for  men,  calling  them- 


220  Church  of  God. 

selves  ministers  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  omit  the 
cross  where  he  gave  himself  for  us,  an  offering  and 
a  sacrifice  to  God  of  a  sweet-smelling  savour ;  or  to 
debase  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  so  that  it  shall 
cease  to  be  our  exclusive  trust  for  the  pardon  of 
our  sin,  is  to  lay  the  foundation  of  their  ministry 
in  treason  to  the  Son  of  God.  The  doom  of  such 
unfaithful  servants  will  be  marked  with  peculiar 
severity  and  horrour.  The  Lord,  the  righteous 
judge,  will  require  at  their  hands  the  blood  of  their 
fellow-sinners  ;  and  they  shall  perish  with  the  per- 
dition of  those  who  crucify  him  afresh,  and  put  him 
to  an  open  shame. 

Less  fearful,  indeed,  but  sufficient  to  strike  our 
souls  with  alarm  and  dread,  is  the  condition  of  one 
who  preaches  to  others  a  gospel  which  he  has  not 
believed  to  his  own  salvation.  What  drudgery ! 
what  wearisomeness  !  to  proclaim  a  Saviour 
whom  he  does  not  love  !  Display  the  precept  and 
the  penalty  of  the  law,  he  may.  Declare  the  doc- 
trine of  the  cross,  he  may.  Expound  the  Scrip- 
tures, in  general,  he  may.  Defend  the  truth  against 
its  adversaries,  he  may.  But  how  can  he  give  to 
every  one  his  portion  of  meat  in  due  season? 
How  can  he  feed  the  sheep  ?  How  feed  the  lambs 
of  Jesus  Christ  ?  How  sympathize  with  the  chil- 
dren of  godly  sorrow  ?  How  accompany  the  pil- 
grim through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  ? 
How  bind  up  the  broken-hearted  ?    How  comfort 


No.  IX. — Ministry. — Qualifications.        221 

others  with  the  consolation  wherewith  he  himself 
has  been  comforted  of  God  ?  Tor  these,  the  most 
benignant  offices  of  the  evangelical  ministry,  ta- 
lent however  great,  and  learning  however  pro- 
found, if  not  sanctified  by  the  grace,  if  not  imbued 
with  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  are  good  for  nothing.  In 
speculation  a  believer,  in  the  efficient  principles  of 
character  an  unbeliever,  their  possessor  will  pro- 
nounce his  own  judgment.  Leaving  to  apostates 
their  whole  pre-eminence  of  wo,  he  will  find  no- 
thing enviable  in  his  "  portion  among  the  hypo- 
crites, where  there  shall  be  weeping,  and  wailing, 
and  gnashing  of  teeth." 

Let  those  who  are  already  in  the  ministry  look 
to  their  personal  interest  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
"  lest,  having  preached  the  gospel  to  others,  they 
themselves  be  castaways."  Let  young  men  who 
aspire  to  the  sacred  office,  give  all  diligence,  in 
the  first  place,  to  "  make  their  calling  and  election 
sure."  Let  those  to  whom  pertains  the  introduc- 
tion of  others  into  the  ministry,  endeavour,  by  all 
such  means  as  do  not  imply  the  judging  of  a  man's 
state  without  external  evidence,  to  ascertain  the 
fruits  of  faith  in  their  candidates  for  the  pulpit. 
Let  parents  and  friends  be  extremely  cautious  in 
destining  a  child,  or  a  relative,  at  a  very  early 
age,  to  the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  Let  him 
first,  as  a  condemned  sinner,  "  receive  Christ  Jesus 
the  Lord ;"  and  then,  as  a  saved  sinner,  "  walk  in 


222  Church  of  God. 

him,"  before  he  "  profess  to  testify  the  gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God." 

But  let  us  not  be  quoted  as  countenancing,  by 
any  thing  we  have  now  said,  the  arrogance  of 
certain  preachers  and  "  gifted  brethren,"  who  set 
themselves  up  as  exclusive  judges  of  grace  in  their 
neighbours ;  and,  with  the  most  offensive  self- 
sufficiency,  go  about  praying  for  "  unconverted 
ministers."  It  would  do  such  men  no  harm  to 
commune  now  and  then  with  their  own  hearts  ; 
complying  with  the  advice  of  Paul  to  the  fastidi- 
ous teachers  at  Corinth,  who  "  sought  a  proof 
of  Christ  speaking  in  him.  Examine  yourselves, 
whether  ye  be  in  the  faith,"  lest  they  fall  eventually 
under  the  reproof  administered  to  those  bloated 
religionists  "  which  say,  stand  by  thyself,  come  not 
near  to  me,  for  lam  holier  than  thou" 

Piety,  however  indispensable  to  the  ministry,  is 
not,  of  itself,  an  adequate  preparation.  A  man 
may  be  a  very  good  man,  and  yet  a  very  incom- 
petent teacher.  The  apostle  Paul  has  positively 
required  that  he  be  "  apt  to  teach;"*  i.  e.  have  the 
faculty  of  communicating  instruction. 

This  comprehends 

(1.)  X  good  natural  capacity. 

We  do  not  mean  that  every  one  who  is  admit- 
ted into  the  ministry  ought  to  be  a  man  of  genius. 
Whatever  be  suggested  by  individual  vanity,  or 

*  AiSaxnxos.     1  Tim.  iii.  2. 


No.  IX. — Ministry. — Qualifications.        223 

the  partial  fondness  of  friends,  genius  is  so  ex- 
tremely rare,  that  if  it  were  essential  to  public  of- 
fice, the  Christian  pulpit,  the  bench  of  justice,  the 
university-chair,  or  the  senatorial  seat,  would  very 
seldom  be  occupied. — When  it  does  appear,  it  is 
misunderstood,  fettered,  tortured,  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  crushed,  by  vulgar  dulness,  by  scholastic 
pedants,  by  that  medium  race,  the  mere  men  of 
letters — we  wish  we  were  not  compelled  to  add — 
and,  too  often,  by  small  Theologians.  It  will,  how- 
ever, force  its  own  way  :  and  as  its  proper  object 
and  work  lie  out  of  the  ordinary  routine  of  official 
life,  it  cannot  enter  into  the  standard  of  fitness  for 
official  employment.  On  genius,  therefore,  it  is 
vain  to  insist,  for  it  cannot  be  had.  But  a  good 
natural  capacity  is  much  more  common,  and 
should  be  peremptorily  required.  He  who  is  not 
apt  to  learn,  will  never  become  apt  to  teach. 
Most  people  imagine  that  education  is  to  do  every 
thing,  and  nature  nothing.  But  what  is  the  pro- 
vince of  education?  Not  to  create  faculties,  but  to 
call  them  forth.  Natural  capacity  is  the  material 
with  which  education  works :  It  is  the  soil  which 
she  cultivates,  and  where  she  sows  the  seeds  of 
instruction.  Expend  your  utmost  labour  and  skill 
upon  a  brick,  and  you  shall  never  impart  to  it  the 
polish  of  marble.  Why  ?  simply  for  this  reason, 
that  it  is  a  brick,  and  not  marble.  Let  a  lad  be  to- 
lerably stocked  with  brain,  and  his  improvement 


224  Church  of  God. 

in  the  hands  of  an  able  preceptor  will  repay  every 
care,  expense,  and  toil.  But  if  that  important 
article  be  wanting,  it  is  a  hiatus  valde  deflendus — 
there  is  no  method  of  supplying  such  a  lamenta- 
ble lack.  One  would  think  that  this  is  so  evident 
as  to  be  a  mere  truism.  And  yet,  evident  as  it  is, 
the  incessant  introduction  into  the  ministry  of 
men  whose  natural  incapacity  renders  themselves 
and  their  office  contemptible,  shows  that  it  is 
practically  disregarded.  We  may  not  dissemble — 
the  interests  in  jeopardy  are  too  precious  to  admit 
of  temporizing — It  is  too  notorious  to  be  denied — 
the  very  Christian  ministry  seem  determined  to 
try,  upon  the  largest  scale,  that  most  absurd  and 
hopeless  experiment,  the  education  of  a  block- 
head for  public  usefulness  !  The  instances,  we  be- 
lieve, are  comparatively  few  in  which  the  pow- 
ers of  a  youth  are  put  to  any  reasonable  test  in 
order  to  ascertain  whether,  in  point  of  intellect,  he 
is  really  worth  training  up  for  the  ministry.  Col- 
lege diplomas,  considering  the  dishonourable  fa- 
cility with  which  they  are  granted,  are  but  sus- 
picious pledges  of  either  knowledge  or  talent. 
Some  years  ago,  a  young  man  who  had  been 
originally  a  maker  of  brooms,  and  had  "  studied 
divinity,"  as  it  is  termed,  for  two  or  three  sessions, 
was  exhibiting  a  specimen  of  his  improvement 
before  a  foreign  Presbytery ;  and  acquitted  him- 
self so  little  to  their  satisfaction,  that  they  judged 


No.  IX. — Ministry. — Qualifications.        225 

it  necessary  to  remand  him  to  his  first  vocation, 
as  more  commensurate  with  his  abilities.  This 
decision  was  announced  by  a  venerable  old  minis- 
ter, in  the  following  manner  : — "  Young  man  :  It 
is  the  duty  of  all  men  to  glorify  God.  But  he  calls 
them  to  glorify  him  in  different  ways,  according  to 
the  gifts  he  bestows  on  them.  Some  he  calls  to 
glorify  him  by  preaching  the  gospel  of  his  Son; 
and  others,  by  making  besoms,  (brooms.)  Now, 
it  is  the  unanimous  judgment  of  this  Presbytery, 
that  he  has  not  called  you  to  the  ministry,  since 
he  has  not  qualified  you  for  it;  and,  therefore,  that 
it  is  your  duty  to  go  home  to  your  father,  and 
glorify  God  by  decent  industry  in  making  besoms." 

The  mode  of  the  old  gentleman  was,  to  be  sure, 
somewhat  original;  but  his  spirit  ought  to  pervade 
the  church.  Would  to  God  he  had  dropped  his 
mantle,  and  that  it  had  been  borne  on  the  wings 
of  the  wind  across  the  Atlantic.  If  every  preacher 
incompetent,  from  a  gross  defect  of  natural  capa- 
city, were  put  to  the  same  trade  with  the  young 
Scotchman,  how  great  would  be  the  increase  of 
brooms  ! 

1  Some  who  have  accompanied  us  thus  far,  will 
stop  short  here,  and  discover  a  willingness  to  dis- 
pense with  acquisitions  which  were  formerly  con- 
sidered as  essential  to  a  well-ordered  ministry. 
"  Piety,"  they  say,  "  will  keep  a  man  straight  upon 
the  main  articles  of  truth ;  and  strength  of  mind, 

Vol.  IV.  29 


226  Church  of  God. 

though  rough  and  unpolished,  will  enable  him  to 
impart  them  to  others  in  a  plain  but  impressive 
manner.  This,"  they  will  add,  "  is  vastly  supe- 
riour  to  the  drowsy  discourse  of  hundreds  who 
have  been  through  college,  have  studied  divinity, 
and  pass  for  great  scholars." 

We  protest,  once  for  all,  against  learned  dul- 
ness.  Little  as  we  delight  in  solecisms  and  un- 
couthness,  we  will  pardon  the  maulings  of  Pris- 
cian's*  head  by  the  club  of  untutored  power  ;  we 
shall  esteem  ourselves  repaid  for  an  injury  to  syn- 
tax, or  for  a  rugged  illustration,  by  nature's  pathos 
and  vigour  ;  when  we  should  loose  our  patience 
with  solemn  insipidity,  or  doze  under  the  influ- 
ences of  a  leaden  diploma ;  nor  deem  it  any  re- 
compense for  the  loss  of  our  time,  that  we  wrere 
put  learnedly  to  sleep.  Yet,  bad  as  this  is,  it  is 
still  worse  to  suffer  the  insipidity  without  the  poor 
consolation  of  some  literature  to  qualify  it — an 
affliction  of  much  more  frequent  occurrence  than 
the  other. 

But  by  what  sort  of  artifice  do  men  cozen  their 
understanding  into  such  argumentation  as  this  ? 
"  Talent  without  education  is  better  than  stupidity 
with  it ;  therefore,  talent  ought  not  to  be  educa- 
ted !  !"     Here  is  a  colt  of  excellent  points  and 

*  Priscian,  a  famous  old  grammarian.   Hence  one  who  violates 
the  rules  of  grammar,  is  said  to  break  Priscian's  head. 


No.  IX. — Ministry. — Qualifications.        227 

mettle  ;  He  is  worth  a  score  of  you  dull,  blunder- 
ing jades,  that  have  been  in  harness  ever  since 
they  were  able  to  draw ;  therefore,  he  will  do  very 
well  without  breaking  !  It  is  surprising  that  so 
many,  otherwise  discreet  persons,  will  maintain 
that  to  be  wise  and  good  in  the  Church  of  God, 
which  they  know  to  be  absurd  and  mischievous 
in  every  thing  else.  In  fact,  talent,  instead  of  be- 
ing exempted  from  the  necessity  of  cultivation,  is 
alone  worth  the  trouble,  and  needs  cultivation  in 
proportion  to  its  strength.  Talents  are  born, 
knowledge  and  skill  are  acquired,  God  creates  the 
one ;  he  has  left  the  other  to  be  obtained  by  ex- 
perience and  industry.  No  talent  can  coin  facts ; 
and  without  facts  it  will  run  to  waste. — Without 
information  it  has  no  materials  to  work  upon;  and 
without  discipline  it  will  work  wrong.  The  power 
of  doing  evil  is  in  exact  proportion  to  the  power 
of  doing  good.  Petty  minds  produce  petty  harms 
and  petty  benefits.  The  errours  of  great  minds 
are  great  errours,  and  draw  after  them  deep,  wide, 
and  lasting  consequences.  It  is  of  unutterable 
moment  that  they  be  set  right  in  the  beginning. 
This,  in  so  far  as  depends  upon  human  exertion, 
is  the  province  of  cultivation,  which,  of  course, 
makes  the 

(2.)  Part,  of  "  aptness  to  teach." 

What  ought  it  to  imbrace  in  a  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ  ?  We  may  distribute  it  into  two  branches ; 


228  Church  of  God. 

the  first  consisting  in  literary  acquirement ;  the 
second,  in  intellectual  and  moral  discipline. 

When  we  consider,  that  the  Scriptures  are 
written  in  languages  which  have  not  been  spoken 
for  ages — that  they  contain  a  succinct  epitome  of 
human  history,  in  reference  to  the  plan  of  grace, 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  time:  going 
backward  to  the  origin  of  nations,  and  forward  to 
their  extinction  :  marking  by  the  sure  word  of 
prophecy,  the  various  fates  of  various  people,  as 
well  as  the  principle  dispensations  of  providence 
toward  the  Church — that  they  relate  events  which 
cannot  be  vindicated  against  plausible  objection, 
without  painful  research  into  the  phenomena  of 
our  globe — that  they  are  full  of  allusions  to  the 
works  of  God  and  of  man — that  they  exhibit  hu- 
man character  under  all  its  varieties,  intellectual 
and  moral ;  individual  and  social — that  their  illus- 
trations of  truth,  and  formulas  of  speech  are  bor- 
rowed from  objects  equally  strange  to  our  habits 
and  conceptions ;  from  the  face  of  the  country ; 
from  the  soil ;  from  the  climate  ;  from  the  govern- 
ments; from  the  idolatry;  from  the  literature; 
from  the  state  of  domestic  society ;  from  the  man- 
ners of  the  East — that  the  language  of  prophecy 
is  wholly  peculiar;  being  a  system  of  symbols, 
which,  though  as  certain  in  themselves,  and  as 
reducible  to  fixed  laws  of  interpretation  as  any 
alphabetical  language  whatever,  are  perfectly  un- 


No.  IX. — Ministry. — Qualifications.      229 
intelligible  without  the  study  of  those  laws 


When  we  consider  these  things,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  perceive  that  the  study  of  the  Bible  allows 
of  the  widest  range  of  learning ;  and  that  without 
a  respectable  portion  of  it  no  man  can  "  rightly 
divide  the  word  of  truth." 

Acquaintance  with  the  original  tongues  is  indis- 
pensable. 

God  has  delivered  his  word  to  us  in  Hebrew 
and  Greek,  which  being  now,  as  they  are  com- 
monly called,  dead  languages,  are  not  liable  to  the 
fluctuations  of  a  living  one.  These  are  the  ulti- 
mate and  the  unalterable  standard  of  truth,  by 
which  every  doctrine  must  eventually  be  tried. 
Excellent  versions  the  Churches  have ;  versions, 
from  which  all  that  is  to  make  us  "  wise  unto 
salvation,"  may  be  learned  by  the  humblest  pea- 
sant or  labourer,  as  certainly  as  by  the  accom- 
plished scholar ;  versions,  undoubtedly  susceptible 
of  improvement ;  but  which  the  licentious  spirit 
of  the  times  gives  us  very  dubious  promise  of  re- 
placing with  better.  Timeo  Danaos — we  invari- 
ably suspect  these  amended  Bibles,  which  the  Isca- 
riot-bands  of  professed  Christianity  are  labouring, 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  to  thrust  into  the 
hands  of  the  unlettered  and  the  simple.# 

*  There  is  a  late  most  audacious  attempt  to  explain  away  the 
whole  gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ;  absolutely 
stripping  it,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  doctrine  of  the  resur- 


230  Church  of  God. 

But  the  excellence  of  versions  does  not  super- 
sede the  necessity  of  studying  the  originals.  The 
very  fact,  that  God  has  preserved  them  by  a  care 
hardly  short  of  miraculous,  would,  of  itself,  estab- 
lish our  position.  Why  were  they  committed  to 
dead  languages  at  all  ?  Why  thus  carefully  pre- 
served amidst  the  ruined  literature  of  the  world, 
and  the  moral  midnight  of  the  "  dark  ages  ?"  To 
be  thrown,  neglected,  into  a  corner  ?  To  be  kept 
as  a  curiosity  to  feed  the  worms,  and  amuse  the 
antiquary?  To  be  decried  by  gabbling  imperti- 
nence ;  or  give  the  ministers  of  religion  an  op- 
portunity of  displaying  their  sense  and  spirit,  by 
treating  as  unworthy  of  their  study,  and  as  beneath 
their  notice,  those  original  volumes  which  their 
God  has  not  thought  it  beneath  him  to  consign, 
for  their  use,  to  the  safeguard  of  his  wonder-work- 

rection,  of  every  principle  which  makes  it  "glad  tidings"  to  a 
sinner;  substituting  in  the  room  of  "redemption  by  the  blood  of 
Christ,"  a  barren  morality,  little  if  any  better  than  that  of  the 
Pagans,  who  were  "without  Christ,  without  hope,  and  without 
God  in  the  world  ;"f  and  straining  into  the  "cup  of  salvation"  the 
distilled  venom  of  Socinian  blasphemy.  This  fatal  draught  is 
handed  about  with  incessant  assiduity,  and  put  to  the  lips  of  the 
unthinking,  that  they  may  "  sleep  the  sleep  of  death."  All  this  un- 
der the  modest  and  respectful  guise  of,  "  an  improved  version  of  the 
Neio  Testament.'''1  The  precedent  of  such  treachery  was  set  long 
ago.  Its  author  is  "gone  to  his  own  place,"  But  the  "improved 
version,"  with  its  accompaniments,  show  that  his  treason  has  not 
perished  with  him.     "  Betray  ye  the  Son  of  man  with  a  kiss  ?" 

f  Eph.  ii.  12. 


No.  IX. — Ministry. — Qualifications.       231 

ing  providence  ?  For  ourselves,  Ave  doubt  not  that 
his  chief  design  in  permitting  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  tongues  to  die  away;  in  protecting  the 
remnants  of  classical  literature,  and  causing  it  to 
revive,  was  that  his  blessed  book  might  be  read 
in  the  original;  and  that  his  Church  might  be 
able  to  assert  and  maintain  his  truth  inviolate,  by 
having  direct  access  to  the  fountains  themselves. 
And  as  little  do  we  doubt  that  the  cry  which 
modern  times,  and  especially  modern  infidels  have 
raised  against  classical  literature,  and  in  which 
some  Christians  and  Christian  ministers  have  un- 
wittingly joined,  is  a  deep,  though  to  many  an 
unsuspected"  stratagem  of  hell,  to  bring  the  ori- 
ginal Scriptures  into  gradual  disuse ;  and,  then, 
by  discrediting  the  versions,  to  involve  Christian- 
ity in  embarrassment  and  shame. 

Independently  on  the  argument  to  be  derived 
from  the  extraordinary  preservation  of  the  sacred 
records,  there  are  other  demonstrations  of  the 
necessity  of  studying  them  in  the  original. 

All  human  works  partake  of  human  infirmity ; 
and  are  marked  with  characters  of  the  age  in 
which  they  are  achieved.  The  remark  is  univer- 
sally applicable,  because  the  fact  is  universally 
true ;  and  must  be  so,  as  it  involves  a  contradic- 
tion, or  something  like  one,  to  suppose  it  other- 
wise. The  state  of  the  sciences,  the  style  of  the 
fine  arts,  the  very  form  of  handwriting,  at  a  par- 


232  Church  of  God. 

ticular  period,  are  stamped  with  characters  by 
which  the  date  of  performances  in  them  can  fre- 
quently be  ascertained,  with  sufficient  precision, 
many  centuries  afterwards.  If  a  man  write  a  book 
which  has  familiar  and  frequent  references  to  dif- 
ferent subjects  of  human  knowledge,  these  refer- 
ences must  be  regulated  by  the  general  state  of 
that  knowledge ;  and  if  it  labour  under  any  ma- 
terial defects,  must  participate  in  those  defects. 
No  enormity  of  genius,  no  distance  of  views  and 
discoveries,  like  those  of  Bacon  and  Newton,  be- 
yond the  sphere  of  his  contemporaries,  will  ena- 
ble him  to  escape,  in  all  things,  the  common  im- 
perfection. 

Now  the  best  versions  of  the  Bible  are  but  hu- 
man works.  Stupendous  works,  indeed,  are  some 
of  them,  all  things  considered,  but  still  hu- 
man. They  bear  strong  traces  of  the  state  of 
knowledge  upon  many  subjects  at  the  time  when 
they  were  made.  The  effect  is,  that  innumerable 
passages  of  Scripture  are  incorrectly  rendered. 
The  vast  extension  of  physical  science,  of  ac- 
quaintance with  Eastern  customs,  and  even  of 
philology,  within  the  last  fifty  years,  has  estab- 
lished a  multitude  of  Scriptural  facts  ;  has  cleared 
up  a  multitude  of  obscurities;  has  rectified  mis- 
renderings  and  misinterpretations  which  no  integ- 
rity or  perspicacity  could  once  avoid;  has  deci- 
sively refuted  the  objections  of  enemies.     The 


No.  IX. — Ministry. — Qualifications.        233 

process  is  still  going  on,  and  will  continue  to  go 
on.  For  it  is  the  wonderful  property  of  the  book 
of  God,  that  it  has  never  yet  been  detected  in  a 
mistake,  even  when  speaking  on  those  subjects  of 
which  the  knowledge  was  either  partially  or  not 
at  all  possessed  by  the  penmen.  Its  enemies  have 
often  charged  it  with  ignorance  and  errour ;  but 
a  closer  investigation  has  invariably  proved  the 
ignorance  and  the  errour  to  be  their  own.# 

*  Voltaire,  more  malignant  than  Celsus,  more  impudent,  if 
possible,  than  Paine,  and  more  witty,  peradventure,  than  all  the 
rest  of  the  goodly  brotherhood  put  together,  lost  no  opportunity  of 
reviling  the  Scriptures.  And  if  a  plump,  round  lie  were  now  and 
then  necessary  to  his  purpose,  as  he  was  not  over-nice  in  his  means, 
he  did  not  permit  the  want  of  it  to  interrupt  his  "  useful  labours." 
Once  on  a  time  he  made  a  grand  discovery,  which  was  to  dock  off 
from  the  age  of  the  book  of  Proverbs  a  handful  of  centuries,  and  so 
prove  the  book  itself  to  be  spurious.  He  found  this  good  fortune 
in  Chap,  xxiii.  31.  which  the  Latin  Vulgate  renders,  "  cum  splen- 
duerit  in  vitro  color  ejus,"  i.  e.  "  when  its  colour,"  (wine,)  "  is 
brilliant  in  the  glass.'"  Now,  drinkiug-glasses,  being,  according  to 
Mons.  Voltaire,  a  "  very  recent  invention  ;"  and  being  mentioned 
in  this  text,  it  follows  that  the  book  of  Proverbs  is  still  more  recent, 
or  it  could  not  have  mentioned  them.  Unhappily  for  the  "  grand" 
philosopher,  the  Hebrew  original  says  nothing  about  glass ;  but 
simply  "  cup,"  so  that  all  Mr.  V's,  argument  can  prove,  at  the 
utmost,  is,  that  the  Vulgate  translation  is  later  than  Solomon  ;  a 
most  rare  discovery !  See  the  admirable  work  entitled  Lettres  de 
quelques  Juifs  a  M.  de  Voltaire.  Tom.  in.  p.  324,  a  performance 
which  plays  with  the  flippant  infidel  even  as  grimalkin  playeth 
writh  an  unlucky  mouse;  and  of  which  the  strong  sense,  superiour 
learning,  grave  irony,  and  blistering  wit,  threw  Voltaire  into  as 

t  Diet.  Philos.  Art.  Salomon. 

Vol.  IV.  30 


234  Church  of  God. 

But  it  is  always  difficult,  and  often  impractica- 
ble, to  push  our  advantages  without  a  knowledge 
of  the  original.  Under  such  a  privation,  the  ex- 
pounder or  the  advocate  of  revealed  truth  must 
trudge  painfully  on,  yielding  a  blind  credence  to 
the  assertion  of  another ;  and  if,  upon  any  occa- 
sion, the  fidelity  or  the  competency  of  his  guide 
should  happen  to  be  suspected  by  himself,  or  im- 
peached by  others,  he  has  no  escape  from  the 
misery  of  suspense,  or  the  shame  of  defeat.  But 
when  his  acquaintance  with  the  original  enables 
him  to  measure  all  criticisms  and  glosses  by  that 
authoritative  test,  he  can  take  his  ground  with  a 
promptitude,  and  keep  it  with  a  confidence,  se- 
cond in  value  only  to  the  ground  itself. 

Again.  All  living  languages  fluctuate.  Old 
words  become  obsolete ;  new  ones  are  coined ; 
and  of  those  which  remain  in  vogue,  multitudes 
gradually  change  their  meaning,  so  as  to  convey 
in  popular  and  even  classical  usage,  ideas  very  dif- 
ferent from  what  they  expressed  a  century  before. 
This  fluctuation  is  extensive  and  rapid  nearly  in 
proportion  to  the  varieties  of  industry,  the  com- 
petitions of  skill,  and  the  intercourse  of  nations. 

great  a  rage,  as  Beattie's  "  Essay  on  Truth,"  threw  the  gentle  Da- 
vid Hume.  The  point  of  their  satire  remains  unblunted,  and  their 
reply  to  Voltaire  unanswerable  ;  notwithstanding  the  epithet  of 
"  pendant"  applied  to  their  author  by  Mons.  Voltaire's  distressed 
editor,  fortified,  too,  by  a  philosophic  quibble.  Vid.  Oeuvres  de 
Voltaire,  Tom.  xliii.  p.  131.  8vo.  1785. 


No.  IX. — Ministry. — Qualifications.        235 

Eastern  versions  of  the  Bible  suffer  the  least.  The 
Eastern  habits  and  languages  being,  for  obvious 
reasons,  more  stable  than  those  of  the  West.  But 
from  the  changes  which  have  passed  upon  the 
languages  of  Europe,  the  vernacular  versions,  un- 
derstood according  to  the  present  acceptation  of 
their  terms,  frequently  put  into  the  mouth  of  the 
sacred  writer  propositions  most  foreign  to  his 
sense ;  and  lead  the  unwary  reader  into  false  and 
hurtful  conclusions.  Strong  examples  might  be 
adduced  from  our  English  Bible ;  but  our  limits 
forbid  the  detail. 

Further.  The  art  of  printing  has  multiplied 
books,  we  had  almost  said,  into  a  nuisance.  The 
multiplication  of  books  has,  in  its  turn,  vitiated 
the  art  of  printing.  It  has  sunk  from  an  employ- 
ment for  talents  and  erudition,  into  a  mere  me- 
chanical craft.  The  voracious  demand  for  books 
rendered  this  unavoidable.  United  with  the 
boundless  circulation  of  the  Scriptures,  with  the 
quick  succession  of  editions,  and  with  the  low 
price  at  which  the  copies  must  be  furnished  for 
common  use,  it  has  increased  the  number  of  typo- 
graphical errours  beyond  all  count.  Some  of 
these  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  pervert  the  mean- 
ing of  the  passage,  yet  to  preserve  grammar  and 
sense,  and  to  defy  correction  from  the  context. 
Let  us  mention  a  curious  instance.  In  1  Cor. 
vi.  4.     The  apostle  says,  "  If  ye  have  judgments  of 


236  Church  of  God. 

things  pertaining  to  this  life,  set  them  to  judge 
who  are  least  esteemed  in  the  Church  !"  One  of 
the  editions  has  it,  "  set  them  to  judge  who  are 
best  esteemed."  A  glance  at  the  original  detects 
the  mistake.  But,  setting  this  aside,  no  man  could 
tell  with  certainty,  whether  we  should  read  "  least," 
or  "  best ;"  and  a  hundred  critical  arguments 
might  have  been  mustered  to  show  that  the  wrong 
reading  is  the  better. 

Besides ;  there  are  many  things,  and  those  of 
importance,  in  every  language,  which  disappear, 
or  rather  never  appear  in  a  translation.  We  know 
that  this  is  doubted,  denied,  and  even  laughed  at 
by  many.  We  cannot  help  it.  It  is  the  privilege 
of  ignorance  to  laugh  ;  of  insincerity,  to  misrepre- 
sent; and  of  captiousness,  to  doubt.  Leaving 
them  in  the  possession  of  their  several  honours, 
we  combine  the  suffrages  of  all  candid  scholars. 
There  is  a  colouring,  a  vivacity,  a  vigour,  a  com- 
prehension, a  pungency  of  idiom,  a  felicity  of  re- 
ference in  the  structure  of  a  word  or  the  peculiari- 
ty of  a  phrase,  which  never  can  be  transferred. 
There  is  a  clear  opening  of  sense  to  an  eye  prac- 
tised in  the  original,  which  a  thick  cloud  mantles 
the  moment  it  passes  into  a  version.  There  is  a 
precision  of  construction  obvious  to  a  scholar  of 
taste,  the  causes  of  Which  are  more  a  matter  of 
feeling  than  of  argument ;  and  though  perfectly 
decisive,  are  too  delicate  to  be  perceived  by  the 


No.  IX. — Ministry, — Qualifications,       237 

uncultivated  sense.  Yet,  in  their  effects,  they 
tinge  and  beautify  the  whole  discussion  of  a 
subject. 

In  conclusion.  The  adversaries  of  evangelical 
truth  and  hope,  are  much  addicted  to  the  practice 
of  assailing  our  faith  through  the  medium  of  criti- 
cism. What  they  want  in  solidity,  they  make  up 
in  boldness  and  in  show.  When  you  press  them 
with  the  subject,  they  will  criticise  all  your  heavy 
matter  away  into  the  thin  air  of  metaphor ;  little 
concerned  if,  in  following  up  their  principle,  they 
criticise  God  himself  into  a  figure  of  speech. 
When  you  press  them  with  a  plain  text,  they  will 
flout  at  the  translation,  abuse  the  translators,  and 
hear  nothing  but  the  original  When  you  produce 
the  original,  as  little  to  their  comfort  as  the  trans- 
lation, they  smell  a  corruption  in  the  text,  and  it 
must  be  purged  by  manuscripts ;  any  manuscript 
being  good  enough  to  amend  or  discard  an  ortho- 
dox expression.  When  the  manuscripts  are  re- 
bellious, which  commonly  happens,  unphilosophi- 
cal  Christians  as  they  are,  they  must  receive  the 
castigation  of  critical  acumen,  i.  e.  the  guesses  of 
an  Arian  or  Socinian  mender  of  the  Bible,  are  to 
sway  our  consciences  in  the  question  of  heaven 
and  eternal  life ;  or  we  are  to  be  degraded  from 
the  rank  of  rational  believers  to  the  pitiable  plight 
of  bigots,  fanatics,  and  simpletons. 

To  repress  this  effrontery,  and  to  shield  the 


238  Church  of  God. 

community  from  the  assaults  of  this  rabid  fury ;  as 
well  as  to  meet  the  several  exigencies  enumera- 
ted above,  there  is  no  effectual  means  but  the 
living  teacher  skilled  in  the  original  tongues,  and 
imbued  with  the  correspondent  learning.  The 
times  awfully  demand  it.  And  if  such  employ- 
ment does  not  require  a  separate  profession  for 
the  ministry,  and  able  and  educated  men  in  it, 
there  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  a  human  occupation 
to  which  every  human  being  is  not  always  and 
every  where  equally  competent. 


239 


CHURCH  OF  GOD, 


No.  X. 

Ministry. — Qualifications. 


To  a  critical  knowledge  of  the  original  tongues, 
a  scribe  well  instructed  in  the  kingdom  of  God 
must  add  an  extensive  acquaintance  with  facts 
necessary  for  explaining  scriptural  subjects. 

These  facts  are  greatly  diversified  in  their  na- 
ture, and  are  to  be  gathered  from  various  provin- 
ces of  human  research.  The  more  immediately 
important  may  be  classed  under  the  general  heads 
of  historical  and  physical  facts. 

To  the  historical  class  belong — 

1.  Annals ;  which  record  distinguished  events, 
ecclesiastical,  civil,  political,  military,  commercial, 
&c. 

2.  The  government,  resources,  and  institutions 
of  a  country. 

3.  The  biography  of  famous  individuals. 

4.  Public  and  private  customs  and  manners. 


240  Church  of  God. 

5.  The  state  of  the  sciences,  of  literature,  and 
of  the  arts.  g 

The  physical  class  comprehends  facts  relating, 

1.  To  the  system  of  the  world — 

2.  To  those  phenomena,  the  study  of  which 
forms,  what  is  commonly  called,  Natural  Philo- 
sophy ;  and  in  which  the  progress  will  be  short 
and  slow  without  the  help  of  mathematics — 

3.  To  natural  geography,  geology,  &c. 

4.  To  the  natural  history  of  animals,  especially 
of  man. 

The  catalogue  might  easily  be  enlarged;  for 
there  is  no  department  of  human  knowledge  or 
skill  which  does  not  furnish  something  of  value  to 
a  good  Divine.  The  design  of  the  foregoing  spe- 
cification is  merely  to  exhibit  a  summary  of  things 
which  embrace  copious  details,  and  with  which 
an  accomplished  and  well-armed  theologian  ought 
to  be  conversant.  An  adept  in  all  of  them  he  can 
hardly  become;  but  such  an  acquaintance  with 
them  as  shall  enable  him  to  turn  their  lights  in 
upon  obscure  parts  of  the  holy  writings ;  and  to 
dissipate  the  artificial  darkness  created  by  the  foe, 
he  may  and  should  acquire. 

"  And  can  so  much  human  learning — such  vo- 
lumes of  history — such  long  narratives  of  political 
things  and  political  men — so  much  natural  philo- 
sophy, and  astronomy,  and  geography,  and  all  the 
rest  of  it,  be  necessary  to  preach  the  Gospel  of 


No.  X. — Ministry. — Qualifications.         241 

salvation  ?  Cannot  a  minister  prove  from  the  Bible 
that  men  are  lost  and  perishing,  but  he  must  fetch 
his  arguments  from  the  story  of  kings  and  king- 
doms whereof  not  one  of  his  audience  in  twenty 
ever  heard  the  names  ?  Can  he  not  tell  them  of 
Jesus  Christ,  without  telling  them  of  Alexander 
the  Great,  or  Mahommed,  or  Genghis  Khan? 
Can  he  not  display  the  grace  of  God,  without  the 
diagrams  of  Euclid  ?  nor  treat  on  scriptural  sym- 
bols, without  an  algebraical  equation  ?  May 
not  his  doctrine  be  heavenly,  unless  he  calculate 
eclipses  ?  And  must  he  be  unable  to  dig  for  the 
hidden  treasures  of  wisdom,  without  plunging  into 
the  belly  of  a  mountain,  or  the  bottom  of  the  sea  ? 
Where  did  the  Apostles  get  such  qualifications  ? 
What  had  your  human  learning  to  do  with  the 
4  mouth  and  wisdom'  with  which  Peter  and  John, 
two  ignorant  and  unlearned  men,  put  to  silence  all 
the  Rabbis  of  the  Sanhedrim  ?  By  what  means 
do  numbers  of  the  most  devoted,  faithful,  and 
successful  labourers  in  the  Lord's  vineyard,  make 
full  proof  of  their  ministry,  and  commend  them- 
selves to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of 
God  ?" 

Against  such  glowing  interrogation,  reason 
wages  an  unequal  war.  Confounding  and  jum- 
bling together  things  which  have  no  alliance ; 
tacking  an  absurd  conclusion  to  an  acknowledged 
truth,  and  pressing  the  fiction  home  upon  the  un- 
Vol.  IV.  31 


242  Church  of  God. 

tutored  mind  with  an  air  of  pious  triumph,  it  can- 
not fail  of  persuading  multitudes,  who  fancy  they 
are  convinced  because  they  are  amazed ;  and, 
arguing  much  more  from  their  wonder  than  from 
their  understanding,  become  the  intractable  con- 
verts of  zeal  without  knowledge. 

Our  reply  is  short. 

The  Apostles  furnish  no  precedent.  All  their 
defects  were  supplied  by  the  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  What  progress  would  they  have 
made  without  it  ?  It  will  be  time  enough  to  quote 
them  when  we  are  placed  in  their  circumstances, 
and  can  claim  their  supernatural  aids.  Let  the 
Spirit  of  God  be  the  miraculous  instructor,  and 
we  shall  immediately  dispense  with  human  learn- 
ing. In  that  case  we  will  leave  the  feet  of  Gama- 
liel, and  hang  upon  the  lips  of  a  fisherman  or  a 
scavenger.  Till  then,  we  hold  ourselves  excused. 
But  it  is  with  the  worst  possible  grace  that  we 
are  referred  to  the  Apostles  as  patterns  of  an  illi- 
terate ministry,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  was  at  the 
pains  to  teach  them,  by  miracle,  things  of  which 
we  are  confidently  told  the  Christian  ministry  have 
no  need  whatever ! 

As  little  can  be  gained  by  the  examples  of  an 
illiterate  ministry  in  later  times  and  among  our 
selves. 

That  a  plain,  uneducated  man,  of  good  native 
sense,  may  unfold  the  elementary,  which  are  the 


No.  X. — Ministry, — Qualifications.         243 

essential,  doctrines  of  the  cross,  with  propriety, 
with  interest,  and  with  effect — that  God  has  often 
used,  and  still  uses,  the  ministry  of  such  men  in 
calling  sinners  to  the  fellowship  of  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  is  both  true  and  consolatory.  Nay,  he 
has  made  individuals,  alike  destitute  of  informa- 
tion and  of  talent,  the  instruments  of  conversion 
and  confirmation  to  other  individuals  of  superiour 
minds  and  attainments.  But  we  are  not,  there- 
fore, to  pick  out  all  the  unlearned  lackbrains 
among  Christians,  and  set  them  to  instruct  the 
men  of  sense  and  education.  God's  sovereignty 
over-rules  our  infirmities,  our  mistakes,  and  even 
our  follies,  for  the  production  of  good;  when, 
without  his  interposition,  they  could  have  pro- 
duced nothing  but  evil.  Yet  this  does  not  alter 
the  nature  of  things.  It  magnifies,  by  contrast, 
the  greatness  of  God ;  but  shows  no  respect  to 
the  littleness  of  man.  Our  infirmity  is  infirmity 
still;  and  our  follies  are  follies  still.  They  are 
not  converted  into  strength,  correctness,  and 
wisdom — nor  are  they  to  be  repeated  by  us — be- 
cause God  has  graciously  controlled  them  for  our 
own  benefit  and  the  benefit  of  others.  Talent  is 
his  gift ;  learning  is  obtained  by  the  favour  of  his 
auspicious  providence.  His  people  are  under  a 
sad  delusion  when  they  affect  to  despise  his 
bounty;  and  to  honour  that  which  it  is  given  to 
destroy — we  mean — Ignorance.     He  is   also   a 


244  Church  of  God. 

sovereign.  He  may  do  as  it  pleaseth  him.  He 
can  fit  his  instruments  for  their  work.  But  his 
sovereignty  is  no  rule  of  our  action ;  and  we  must 
take  instruments  as  we  find  them ;  i.  e.  such  as 
he  has  made  them.  When  we  come  with  our 
offerings,  we  must  bring  of  our  best.  As  we  can- 
not change  the  nature  of  means,  we  are  bound  to 
select  those,  which  are,  in  themselves,  best  cal- 
culated to  insure  the  end.  Now  ignorance  is  not 
so  well  adapted  to  instruct  as  knowledge  is :  nor 
can  stupidity  acquire  or  apply  knowledge  as  talent 
can.  God  employed  an  ass  to  rebuke  the  mad- 
ness of  a  prophet;  but  it  does  not  follow  that 
other  asses  are  destined  to  a  similar  office ;  and 
are  expected  to  bray  as  often  as  they  encounter 
a  prophet.  We  have  no  objection  that  modern 
Balaams  shall  be  put  to  the  same  school ;  but  we 
must  first  see  the  same  power  exerted  to  qualify 
the  Teacher  and  enable  the  "  dumb  ass  to  speak 
with  man's  voice ;"  or  we  shall  heartily  join  in 
requiting  the  noise  of  His  Dumbness  with  a  sound 
cudgelling;  the  precedent  in  the  book  of  Num- 
bers to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

If  good  is  effected  by  ignorant  imbecility,  the 
true  conclusion  is,  that  means  make  no  difference 
when  God  chooses  to  act;  as  all  difficulties  are 
equal,  that  is,  are  nothing,  to  omnipotence.  But 
we  abuse  our  reason  ;  injure  the  truth ;  and  affront 
the  holy  one,  when,  from  such  a  fact  we  conclude, 


No.  X. — Ministry. — Qualifications.         245 

whether  formally  or  practically,  that  we  are  to 
clothe  ignorance  and  imbecility  with  the  authori- 
ty, and  assign  them  the  duties  of  knowledge  and 
power.  We  tacitly  put  ourselves  on  a  level  with 
God ;  we  indirectly  assert  our  omnipotence.  Grant, 
as  we  cheerfully  do,  that,  through  the  divine 
blessing,  good  has  often  been  done,  and  much 
good  too,  by  persons  whom  we  should  have  pro- 
nounced unfit,  on  account  of  either  talent  or  lite- 
rature, or  both,  for  the  ministry  of  reconciliation 
— Does  it  follow,  that,  with  the  same  blessing 
upon  proper  qualifications,  the  good  would  not 
have  been  much  greater ;  especially  as  we  do  not 
argue  on  the  supposition  of  miracles  ?  It  is  a  law 
of  God's  own  enacting,  and  it  is  kept  in  operation 
by  his  continual  agency,  that  all  bodies  shall  gra- 
vitate, or  tend  in  their  motion,  toward  the  center 
of  the  earth.  But  will  a  feather,  therefore,  over- 
come the  resistance  of  the  air  as  easily,  and  fall 
to  the  ground  as  rapidly,  as  a  stone,  seeing  they 
are  both  acted  upon  by  the  same  force  ?  God  pre- 
serves, by  his  Spirit,  the  functions  of  the  animal 
economy.  Shall,  therefore,  a  kitten  draw  as  much 
as  a  horse  ?  It  is  his  visitation  which  sustains 
our  spirits.  Shall  the  brains  of  a  fool  perform,  on 
this  account  the  intellectual  exploits  of  genius  ? 
The  analogy  is  perfect,  because  the  principle  is 
universal,  pervading  all  the  divine  constitutions 
with  which  we  have  any  acquaintance.     The  ar- 


246  Church  of  God. 

gument  which  it  furnishes  on  the  point  before 
us,  is  irresistible ;  concluding  with  the  force  of 
nearly  mathematical  evidence,  against  the  no- 
tion we  are  combatting;  and  demonstrating  that, 
other  things  being  equal,  the  most  intelligent  min- 
istry will  bring  most  glory  to  God,  and  most  hap- 
piness to  men.  In  the  mean  time,  let  Christian 
ministers  and  judicatories  ponder  solemely  the 
principle  of  the  following  extract  from  the  prophet 
Malachi :  Ye  brought  that  which  was  torn,  and  the 
lame,  and  the  sick  ;  thus  ye  brought  an  offering. 
Should  I  accept  this  of  your  hand?  saith  Jehovah. 
But  cursed  be  the  deceiver  which  hath  in  his  flock  a 
male,  and  voweth  and  sacrificeth  unto  Jehovah  a 
corrupt  thing  !  For  I  am  a  great  king,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  and  my  name  is  dreadful  among  the 
heathen.  This  fearful  commination  is  levelled 
against  the  priests  who  profaned  Jehovah's  name. 
And  the  profanation  consisted  precisely  in  their 
consecrating  to  him  the  worse,  when  they  might 
have  consecrated  the  better.  "  He  that  hath  ears 
to  hear,  let  him  hear !" 

But  all  such  declamation  is  founded  upon  a 
supposition  which  is  manifestly  false  :  viz.  that  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  has  nothing  to  do  in  his  of- 
ficial instructions,  but  to  insist  upon  the  simplest 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel  in  their  simplest  form. 
That  they  have  been  very  extensively  habituated 
to  this  practice'where  vital  religion  is  cherished, 


No.  X. — Ministry. — Qualifications.        247 

admits  of  no  dispute.  But  that  the  habit  is  a 
good  one,  admits  of  much.  We  institute  no  com- 
parison between  always  preaching  the  simple 
truths  of  Christ,  and  not  preaching  them  at  all,  or 
preaching  them  very  seldom,  and  very  slightly. 
When  my  own  conduct  is  criminated,  it  is  no  jus- 
tification to  plead  that  my  neighbour's  is  worse. 
The  evil  to  which  we  object,  solemnly  and  deci- 
sively object,  is,  the  keeping  Christian  people  in 
a  state  of  perpetual  childhood.  God  has  charged 
us  to  "  leave  the  principles  of  the  doctrines  of 
Christ,  and  go  on  to  perfection."  He  has  forbid- 
den us  to  be  continually  occupied  in  "  laying  the 
foundation  of  repentance  from  dead  works ;  of 
faith  toward  God;  of  the  doctrine  of  baptisms; 
of  laying  on  of  hands ;  of  resurrection  of  the 
dead ;  and  of  eternal  judgment."  Yet  it  is  not  to 
be  questioned ;  the  fact  is  clear  as  day,  that  the 
mass  of  evangelical  ministers  never  build  above 
the  "  foundation;"  never  get  out  of  the  principles 
or  mere  rudiments  of  Christianity.  Take  what 
text  of  the  Bible  they  will,  you  always  find  them 
teaching  some  one  or  other  of  these  "  rudiments;" 
always  working  at  some  part  or  other  of  this  foun- 
dation. We  do  not  blame  them  for  this ;  but  for 
doing  nothing  else.  For  seldom  or  never  rising 
in  their  instructions  higher  than  those  things  which 
the  veriest  novices  in  religion  understand  almost 
as  well  as  themselves.  There  is  little  consultation 


248  Church  of  God. 

of  the  wants  of  different  classes  :  little  distribution 
of  his  portion  to  every  one  in  due  season.  There 
is  milk  for  babes.  Good.  Let  the  milk  never  be 
withheld  :  but  there  should  be  more.  There  is 
no  meat  for  strong  men.  It  is  milk,  milk,  milk. 
This  is  the  complaint.  The  effect  is,  that  Chris- 
tian knowledge  is  very  scanty,  and  Christian  at- 
tainments very  low :  so  that  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  our  most  pious  people  are  ready  to  be 
tossed  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine  which 
does  not  blow  them  out  the  precincts  of  their  ele- 
mentary principles.  There  are  few  incitements 
to  study  the  Bible.  With  the  exception  of  some 
doctrinal  passages  and  moral  precepts,  it  is  a 
book  of  darkness.  Some  parts  of  it  are  even  fall- 
ing into  neglect,  and  comparative  contempt. 

Hence  the  facility  with  which  dissentions  mul- 
tiply, and  all  manner  of  sects  and  pretenders  draw 
away  disciples  after  them.  Such  is  the  effect. 
The  immediate  cause  we  have  stated.  The  pri- 
mary and  efficient  cause  is  more  remote.  It  is  in 
the  defective  training  of  the  ministry  it  self.  We 
speak  it  boldly ;  because  it  is  a  most  serious,  and 
a  most  seasonable,  though  a  painful  and  unpopu- 
lar truth.  Incapacity  we  lay  aside  :  but  we  can- 
not too  deeply  lament  that  where  there  is  not  this 
incurable  malady,  yet,  partly  from  want  of  previous 
preparation,  and  partly  from  want  of  means  to 
pursue  their  studies  after  entering  upon  their 


No.  X. — Ministry. — Qualifications.         249 

functions,  the  ministers  themselves  cannot  enrich 
their  public  instructions.  The  Bible  is  not  ex- 
pounded ;  it  cannot  be  expounded — It  is  not  un- 
derstood; it  cannot  be  understood  by  men  without 
learning,  however  respectable  their  native  powers. 
Who  can  illustrate  the  modes  of  speech  used  by 
the  scripture,  its  allusions,  its  similes,  its  parables, 
its  symbols,  unimbued  with  the  knowledge  of 
Eastern  climate,  customs,  arts,  and  institutions  ? 
Who  can  trace  and  show  the  accomplishment  of 
prophesy,  without  large  historical  inquiry  ?  Who 
can  repel  the  attacks,  and  wipe  off  the  aspersions 
of  unbelievers,  if  he  be  a  stranger  to  those  re- 
searches from  which  the  attacks  derive  their  force, 
and  the  aspersions  their  filth  ?  The  thing  is  im- 
possible. In  honest  truth,  the  bible  is  to  most  of 
our  clergy  a  sealed  book.  Their  ignorance  is  un- 
suspected, because  they  have,  for  the  most  part, 
to  deal  with  men  more  ignorant  than  themselves. 
But  it  is  not  to  be  conceived  how  few  are  the  in- 
stances in  which  they  could  satisfy  decent  and 
proper  questions,  compared  with  those  which 
should  put  them  to  silence.  Here  is  the  true  se- 
cret of  that  limited  sort  of  preaching  which  so 
generally  prevails  in  our  pulpits.  Our  ministry 
cannot  help  themselves.  They  do  not  know  any 
thing  else.  Their  communications  run  the  length 
of  the  matter  which  they  have  to  communicate. 
Even  the  fiercest  decriers  of  human  learning  never 
Vol.  IV.  32 


250  Church  of  God. 

forget  to  display  every  patch  and  shred  of  it  which 
they  accidentally  pick  up.  None  more  sure  to 
turn  up  the  bottom  of  their  treasury  than  them- 
selves. If  any  of  them  chance  upon  a  smattering 
of  letters,  his  light  shall  never  expire  under  a 
bushel :  the  world  shall  be  in  no  danger  of  losing 
the  benefit  of  his  lore.  And  though  in  thrusting 
it  out  upon  his  hearers  he  slander  his  authorities, 
by  murdering  their  sense  and  their  names  together, 
he  shall  be  admired  as  a  prodigy,  and  revered  as 
an  Apostle.  Say  the  ministers  of  religion  what 
they  will,  if  they  employ  no  learning  in  their  minis- 
trations, it  is  because  they  have  none  to  employ : 
and  it  is  adding  deception  to  misfortune,  to  play 
off  their  inability  under  the  mask  of  a  higher  de- 
gree of  spirituality  of  mind,  and  a  purer  desire  of 
glorifying  the  divine  teaching. 

The  evil  is  alarming ;  it  is  enormous.  It  has  so 
overgrown  our  country,  and  is  so  deeply  rooted, 
that  its  eradication  by  human  effort  is  at  best  pro- 
blematical. So  long,  and  so  commonly  have  both 
ministers  and  people  been  accustomed  to  it,  that 
it  is  hard  to  convince  many  of  them  of  its  being 
an  evil  at  all.  The  standard  of  ministerial  cha- 
racter has  been  gradually  lowered  down  from  its 
once  imposing  elevation  to  the  level  of  every  volu- 
ble and  boisterous  prater.  That  which  wras  for- 
merly considered  as  the  acquisition  "  of  children 
and  those  of  weaker  capacity,"  is  now,  with  many. 


No.  X. — Ministry. — Qualifications.         251 

the  ministerial  attainment.  The  Churches  have 
begun  to  reap  the  fruits  of  that  tree  which  their 
own  apathy  and  parsimony  have  nourished,  if  not 
planted.  The  bitter  morsel  has  been  only  tasted 
hitherto.  The  meal  of  gall  and  wormwood  is  yet 
to  come.  Let  them  not  deceive  themselves.  The 
period  of  desolation  is  at  hand.  They  have  been 
warned  and  entreated,  years  and  years  together, 
to  provide  for  the  suitable  education  of  their  min- 
istry i  and  they  have  been  deaf  as  adders  to  the 
voice  of  expostulation.  Slow-paced  retribution 
has  begun  her  march,  and  will  fulfil  her  work. 
Even  riow,  the  United  States  must  be  searched 
through  for  a  single  man  fit  to  occupy  a  post  of 
eminence  or  of  danger  ;  and  the  dearth  threatens 
to  increase.  Let  us  not  have  the  lullaby  of  Peace, 
peace,  when  fearful  facts  thicken  upon  us  every 
hour.  If  the  same  apathy  shall  continue;  if  stren- 
uous exertions  be  not  speedily,  extensively,  and 
perseveringly  used,  there  will  be  no  averting  the 
ruin.  Things  must  rush  on  from  bad  to  worse, 
till  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  is  corrupted,  its  glory 
obscured,  and  its  power  withdrawn,  an  horrour  of 
thick  darkness  overspread  the  land. 

"  Knowledge  is  power,"  in  the  same  sense  in 
which  every  other  instrument  may  be  denomina- 
ted power  ;  viz.  as  a  means  to  an  end.  By  itself 
it  is  as  inefficient  as  any  material  weapon  what- 
ever.    The  weapon  is  useless  without  a  hand  to 


252  Church  of  God. 

employ  it.  No  better  is  knowledge  detached  from 
a  sound  head.  It  would  be  wasting  time  to  prove 
that  mere  learning  is  among  the  most  feeble  and 
inert  of  human  things.  Prodigies  of  erudition  are 
frequently  destitute  of  common  sense ;  and,  in  the 
practical  business  of  life,  in  all  that  relates  to  the 
direction  of  men,  are  more  impotent  than  chil- 
dren. Such  reservoirs  of  unassorted  facts  answer 
one  good  purpose,  and  only  one;  they  furnish 
materials  for  those  who  can  think.  Heavy  plod- 
ding industry  must  be  content  with  the  useful  pro- 
perty, and  the  humble  praise,  of  a  pioneer  for 
brain.  Learning,  therefore,  although  indispensa- 
ble to  an  "  ability  to  teach,"  will  not  of  itself,  im- 
part that  ability.  To  give  it  its  proper  effect  two 
things  are  necessary : 

1.  Good  sense. 

2.  Good  sense  well  disciplined. 

On  the  first  we  have  already  expressed  our  opi- 
nion ;  but  its  great  importance  will  excuse  a  few 
additional  remarks. 

Were  we  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  choosing 
between  good  sense  without  learning,  and  learn- 
ing without  good  sense,  we  should  not  hesitate 
for  a  moment.  Good  sense,  alone,  will  be  always 
respectable  ;  learning,  alone,  almost  always  ridic- 
ulous. No  being  is  so  credulous,  so  easily  duped, 
so  regularly  absurd,  so  good  for  nothing  upon  an 
emergency,  so  utterly  incapable  of  conducting 


No.  X. — Ministry. — Qualifications.        253 

affairs,  as  a  man  whose  memory  is  stored  with  all 
manner  of  information,  yet  is  destitute  of  under- 
standing to  use  it  rightly.  Whenever  he  comes 
into  collision  with  native  vigour,  however  uncul- 
tivated, he  is  sure  to  provide  the  means  of  his 
own  overthrow.  He  brings  forth  his  learning  with 
the  confidence  of  victory,  and  is  amazed  to  find 
his  artillery  wrested  from  him,  and  turned  instan- 
taneously upon  himself.  Without  the  sagacity  to 
perceive  his  error,  he  is  in  danger  of  repeating  it 
as  often  as  he  turns  disputant.  A  fact  is  to  him 
a  fact;  and  the  odds  are  infinitely  against  him, 
that  out  of  the  million  facts  at  his  command,  he 
shall  select  the  one  least  likely  to  serve  him,  and 
that  when,  by  the  misapplication  of  one  part  of  his 
learning  he  has  drawn  himself  into  difficulty,  he 
will  be  unable,  with  all  the  rest  of  it  to  draw  him- 
self out  again.  The  Christian  story  is  full  of  ex- 
amples of  this  mismanagement.  Even  the  pulpit, 
where  the  preacher  ought  at  least  to  be  consider- 
ate, is  doomed  to  dishonour,  when  occupied  by 
indiscretion.  There  are  many  subjects  which 
must  be  handled,  but  which  require  caution,  dex- 
terity, and  delicacy. 

Men  of  great  literature,  and  even  of  good  man- 
ners, who  never  offend  against  modesty,  make 
most  absurd  mistakes  in  delivering  to  one  audience 
discourses  fit  for  another  of  entirely  different  char- 
acter.    They  are  very  apt  to  do  so,  if  they  have 


254         No.  X. — Ministry. — Qualifications. 

allowed  themselves  to  be  absorbed  in  a  particu- 
lar theme.  Their  favourite  must  be  the  favourite 
of  all  the  world.  Abstruse  demonstrations,  which 
years  of  study  have  rendered  familiar  to  them- 
selves, must,  of  course,  be  evident  to  the  mechan- 
ic and  the  husbandman.  An  English  divine,  who 
was  deeply  enamoured  of  the  study  of  Opticks, 
and  was  a  very  distinguished  proficient  in  all  its 
minutiae,  could  scarcely  preach  on  a  text  in  the 
bible  without  sliding  into  his  darling  discussions. 
Accordingly,  having  to  preach  to  a  plain  country 
congregation  in  Kent,  he  lectured  them  with  much 
pith  and  animation,  on  his  dioptricks,  and  catop- 
tricks,  his  refractions,  reflexions,  and  angles  of  inci- 
dence. They  were  greatly  edified,  no  doubt ;  and 
the  preacher  was  much  delighted.  It  happened, 
however,  that  in  going  from  church  to  the  house 
of  a  substantial  farmer,  his  host  thus  accosted 
him.  "  Doctor,  you  have  given  us  an  excellent  sermon 
to-day  :  but  I  believe  you  made  one  mistake."  "  Mis- 
take /"  exclaimed  the  Dr.  "  Sir,  that  is  impossible, 
it  was  all  demonstration  !  /"  "  True,  your  Reverence," 
quoth  Hodge,  "  but  them  there  things  that  you 
preached  so  much  about  you  called  HopsTWKs ;  now 
in  our  country,  here  in  Kent,  we  call  'emii/ojo-poLES." 
We  think  we  have  heard,  in  the  course  of  our 
lives,  sermons  nearly  as  well  adapted  to  time 
and  place,  and  quite  as  instructive  to  the  people. 
The  injudicious  treatment  of  types,  parables, 


Church  of  God.  255 

and  all  figurative  language,  has  been  so  common, 
that  it  ceases  to  surprise  and  almost  to  displease. 
Habit  gradually  renders  us  insensible  to  faults 
which,  at  first,  strike  us  with  great  force ;  and  the 
unquestioned  piety  of  many  public  teachers  serves 
as  a  mantle  for  even  their  absurdity.  In  every 
walk  of  life,  superiors  will  be  imitated  by  inferiors. 
Blemishes  are  much  more  easily  copied  than  ex- 
cellence; and  when  the  aberrations  of  thought 
have  imparted  respectability  to  a  bad  taste,  the 
evil  becomes  almost  incurable  in  minds  of  a  se- 
condary order.  The  irregular  sportings  of  an 
active  and  untrained  imagination,  seduce,  by  their 
glare,  the  footsteps  of  imitation ;  and,  what  was, 
in  the  original,  a  splendid  defect,  becomes  in  the 
copy  an  unpardonable  offence.  Thus  have  suc- 
cessive generations  of  preachers  regularly  improv- 
ing upon  bad  models,  displayed  their  ingenuity  in 
marring  the  beauty  of  the  Scripture,  in  destroying 
the  harmony  of  its  parts,  in  breaking  off  the  fine 
points  of  its  most  exquisite  passages ;  and  when 
they  have  committed  all  these  ravages,  and  con- 
verted the  book  of  God  into  a  book  of  quibbles 
and  conundrums,  they  please  themselves  with  the 
self-flattery  of  having  performed  wonders  of  in- 
struction and  edification.  Typical  and  figurative 
texts  must  be  hunted  to  death.  The  more  points 
of  resemblance,  the  abler,  of  course,  is  the  preach- 
er ;  and  the  more  he  can  find  in  a  figure  than 


256        No.  X. — Ministry. — Qualifications. 

other  people  can,  the  more,  are  they  taught  to 
believe,  do  they  see  of  the  fulness  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. How  he  made  his  discoveries,  is  a  question 
which  few  think  of  asking.  The  marvellous  has 
a  patent  for  a  sort  of  implicit  faith.  For  the  many, 
it  is  sufficient  that  he  made  them ;  sagaciously 
concluding  that  if  the  wonders  had  not  been  there, 
he  could  not  have  found  them.  There  is,  indeed, 
one  consolation,  and  it  is  not  a  small  one,  that 
preachers  who  love  the  precious  doctrines  of  the 
cross,  will  preach  what  is  true  in  itself,  however 
they  may  desert  or  mangle  their  texts.  Yet  this 
is  no  excuse  for  coupling  with  it  all  manner  of 
nonsense,  and  fathering  it  upon  the  wisdom  of 
God. 

The  most  insufferable  departure  from  the  prin- 
ciples of  sound  exposition  is  that  perversion  of  the 
plain  facts  of  the  Bible  which  is  called  spiritualizing 
them.  As  if  there  were  not  passages  enough 
which  contain  fairly  and  unequivocally,  according 
to  the  laws  of  proper  construction,  every  doctrine 
of  the  Gospel !  as  if  the  Spirit  of  God  had  not 
made  his  own  book  spiritual  enough ! 

It  is  inconceivable  what  havoc  this  species  of 
mania,  for  it  deserves  no  better  name,  has  made 
in  the  sober  and  dignified  lessons  of  divine  revela- 
tion. And  it  shows  how  powerful  is  the  influence 
of  an  irrational  fashion,  when  even  great  men  are 
swept  by  it  into  the  bog  of  absurdity.     Massillon's 


Church  of  God.  257 

sermon  on  the  impotent  folk  around  the  pool  of 
JBethesda,  with  all  its  eloquence,  cannot  escape 
from  this  censure.  We  have  before  us  a  thing 
called  a  sermon,  prepared  for  the  press  too; 
which  is  a  morceau  in  this  kind  of  skill. 

The  author  takes  for  his  subject  the  history  of 
Ehud's  adventure  when  he  killed  Eglon,  the  king 
of  Moab,  and  delivered  Israel.  After  pathetically 
lamenting,  in  his  introduction,  the  blindness  of 
those  who  perceive  in  the  context  nothing  but  a 
plain  history,  he  proceeds  to  unfold  the  mysteries 
which  unveiled  themselves  to  his  eye.  Every 
thing  is  transformed  into  a  type.  Ehud  is  a  type ; 
his  dagger  is  a  type  ;  his  left-handedness  a  type ; 
the  quarries  by  which  he  passed  a  type.  In  a 
word,  he  and  his  adventure  are  types  of  Christ  and 
his  providence.  Eglon,  too,  is  a  type ;  a  type  ot 
Satan ;  his  big  belly,  fat,  dirt,  and  all.  But  how 
was  Eglon's/otf  typical  of  Satan  ?  You  may  won- 
der, reader,  but  if  you  have  any  sense,  you  will 

never  guess Why  even  thus.  Satan  is  the  god 

of  this  world ;  he  works  in  the  children  of  disobe- 
dience. These  children  of  disobedience  are  a 
vast  multitude.  The  whole  of  them  together  serve 
as  a  body  for  Satan ;  so  that  he  is  a  fat  devil  in- 
deed !  We  are  not  caricaturing.  We  are  relating 
a  simple  fact  without  exaggeration,  and  even  below 
the  truth !  And  this  vile  gibberish  must  be  palmed 
upon  plain  people  as  spiritual  preaching !  Another 


258        No.  X. — Ministry. — Qualifications. 

sample  occurred  in  a  discourse  upon  Gen.  xxix.  2. 
where  Jacob  is  related  to  have  "  looked,  and  be- 
hold, a  well  in  the  field  ;  and  lo !  there  were  three 
flocks  of  sheep  lying  by  it."  This  is  all  type. — 
The  three  flocks  typify  the  three  dispensations,  to 
wit,  the  Patriarchal,  the  Mosaic,  and  the  Chris- 
tian. The  well,  too,  is  typical.  And  the  preacher 
having  desired  his  hearers  carefully  to  observe 
that  the  "  well  was  in  the  field,"  broke  out  into 
this  edifying  exclamation,  "  What  a  mercy,  my 
brethren,  that  the  field  was  not  in  the  well!  /" 

We  have  quoted  strong  cases,  but  not  stronger 
than  others  we  could  quote.  They  are  the  genuine 
consequences  of  that  vicious  mode  of  parodying 
the  Bible,  from  which  good  sense  is  the  only  pre- 
servative. Considering  how  much  of  this  harle- 
quin trumpery  is  bandied  about  in  the  Church  un- 
der the  garb  of  spiritual  preaching,  it  is  little  short 
of  a  miracle  that  the  religion  of  Christ  Jesus  is  not 
burlesqued  out  of  the  world.* 


*  This  number  was  never  finished  by  the  author.  Nor  has  any 
paper  been  found,  containing  his  thoughts  upon  "the  mode  of  pre- 
serving, a  standing  ministry,"  which  was  to  form  the  last  topic  of 
this  series. — Ed. 


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